


Pizza Delivery!

by FanficFriday



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Comedy, F/M, Self Insert Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24007891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficFriday/pseuds/FanficFriday
Summary: FanFic Friday is an event every week where I read aloud old fanfiction I wrote on my youtube channel, and talk about it, and how horrible and hilarious it is. It's a loving roast of myself and the fanworks that led to my creative growth as a writer, but uh... aren't quite up to snuff.This story: A college student becomes a pizza delivery girl to get to know Dante Sparda, and ends up wrapped up in some demon drama and romance. A teenager's first attempt at romance, with absolutely no understanding of what romantic love is. Also, pizza.
Relationships: Dante/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You can watch the live self roast here: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Inn2XaeUJY&list=PLtFKKJBtHlSNNlokm3Uzu07zkdencAMa6&index=3&t=331s

PIZZA DELIVERY!

Love at First Slice!

A heart made of fragile glass,

A heart made of a broken past,

And if everyone hates and him and fears him the most,

Even the ones to whom he is close,

How can he find a love that will last?

\- Demon Falls in Love, by C. L. Moss

Absolutely enraged, fists clenched and heart racing, Christine slammed the classroom door behind her and stomped out. She was completely furious! Violently shoving the buttons on her cell phone Christine frowned and pushed it up against her ear.

"Hello?"

"Madison!" The girl sighed letting go of a little frustration.

The girl on the other end of the line recognized the voice and gasped happily. "Hey, girlie! You okay?"

Brushing a hand through her hair Christine tried to calm herself. "I really need to talk to you. Can we meet for lunch?"

"Of course, I'll be right there. Meet me at that pizza place by your house." Christine nodded and thanked her friend, before shutting the phone and glaring over her shoulder. With thundering footsteps the angry woman stormed out of the building and into the afternoon light.

0-0-0

"Hey, what's been going on? You're really red in the face…"

"Yeah…"

Sitting in the back corner of their favorite pizza place, young Christine Moss sat with her close friend Madison Miller; both were college students at different universities in the city, one studying clothing design, and the other literature.

"Damn it, it's my fucking professor." Christine sighed, wiping sweat off her brow.

"What? What'd he do? He didn't touch you, did he?" Madison gawked, color rising in her cheeks. Christine spared a small laugh.

"No – he didn't touch me." Relieved, Madison sat back in her chair. "Well, then why were you so mad, and so urgent?"

Letting her head hang, Christine closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "He was being an ass again. He's been an ass ever since I told him his darling Sarah Temple cheated on her written essay. Named me in class, used my paper as an example of 'what not to do', I told him to take his essays and shove them up his ass. Then I stormed out."

Groaning Christine let her head sink to the table. "I don't think I can stomach college any more."

Surprised Madison gasped and grasped her friend's shoulders. "No way! Don't throw away your future because of that jerk!"

"So I'll throw away my dignity and sanity instead?" Moaning, Christine leaned back away from Madison's hands. "I don't even know what I want to do any more."

Frustrated, Madison crossed her arms and tried another approach. "Come on, you've wanted to write stories forever. And you know a college degree won't help you get to writing, but it will help you get a job."

"I just want to write. I hate work." Sighing Christine turned away from her friend, standing to fill her empty drink with soda. Determined Madison stomped after her.

"Hey, you call me here don't walk away!" Madison, though a good bit shorter than her tall friend, took firm hold of her wrist and forced her to turn around. "You're a lazy ass, that's why you want to quit! You just won't finish anything!"

Rolling her eyes, Christine sighed and nodded. "So I never finish anything. What's it worth anyway? Jeez, it's not like college has done anything for me…" Madison huffed and crossed her arms.

"Superiority complex, that's what you have." She frowned. "You think you're writing is better than that professor's."

Almost as if that conclusion should've been obvious, Christine turned to her surprised. "Of course! He's an ass who's never thought any deeper than his silly teenage love stories."

"Says the girl who keeps a bunch of romance novels in her cabinet." Madison quirked an eyebrow. The rage Christine had had faded and a blush covered her cheeks.

"Hey – those – that was research."

"Uh – huh."

Now flustered and unsure, the taller girl huffed and stomped over to the soda machine, shoved her cup under the dispenser and pushed the drink button. She didn't hear the door open over the sound of her own thoughts, being very deep in musing. Madison saw the door open and gaped at the man who walked in. Utterly surprised and shamelessly staring at him with a girly smile, she pulled on her friend's sleeve.

"Christine, oh Christine!" She pulled harder, turning the girl. Her hand slipped and tipped her soda over, spilling it all over her sleeve. Gawking Christine hurried to clean it.

"Dang it, what was that for!" She cried, brushing her arms off with napkins.

"You're the one who's a klutz, now stop it, and look!" She hissed, forcing her friend to turn her head towards the cash register.

As soon as she rested her eyes on the man at the cash register she understood why her friend had wanted her to look so badly. Whatever napkins she'd been holding in her hand, she let go of.

"All right, I want two with everything on it, got it?"

A tall, rugged man was leaning against the counter, waiting for his order. Silver hair glistened in the light over his beautiful pale skin, his rippled muscles hidden beneath black leather. He was dangerous, and twice as much for how good he looked. Christine could hardly take her eyes off him, and Madison giggled at the sight of him. Quietly, nervously, Christine side stepped until she was out of his sight and in the hallway leading to the bathroom.

Madison had yet to notice, but when she went to hold her friend's wrist she grasped air. Glancing around, she frowned and hurried after her shy friend.

"Christy, what are you doing?" Gawking at her friend Madison flicked her hand back over towards the man. "Hello, hottie at twelve o'clock!" "Actually that's nine o'clock for me…" Christine commented. Madison rolled her eyes. With a sigh Christine shook her head and backed away. "Come on, you don't think I'd have a chance, do you?"

Stomping up towards her friend Madison took firm hold of her friend's ear, dragging her towards the bathroom. Shocked Christine fought back, but for such a small girl Madison was very strong.

Throwing her through the doorway, Madison slammed the door shut, took hold of Christine's shoulders, and made her look at the mirror by the bathroom sinks.

Christine was almost 5'8", 133 pounds, and though tall, very thin. Her pale skin was dotted with freckles on her face, and scars on her elbows, knees, and lower legs from her adventurous childhood. Dark hair framed her hazel eyes, down to her shoulders and unkempt. She was not unattractive, though perhaps not as much an eyeful as her buxom, blonde friend.

"Tell me, what's there not to like?" Madison prodded, putting a hand on her hip.

"It's not that…" Christine sighed and brushed hair out of her face. "Like you said, I never finish anything. No matter how much I like someone… I'm not driven to go out of my way to get them. It's just a fleeting dream, really. Besides, that guy was a total stranger."

Placing a hand under her chin Madison thought on the subject hard. Then, light seemed to flood her eyes and she snapped her fingers.

"That's it! It's brilliant!"

Surprised, Christine looked up. "What?"

"I know how to get your drive back! Get your writing better! How to make you really want to live again! How to get you off your ass!" Madison cheered heartily.

"Yes, yes, I get it, now what is it?" Unsure of what Madison was thinking, the brunette was sure she wasn't going to like it.

Proudly sauntering over to her friend, Madison placed her hands on Christine's shoulders, and looked deep into her eyes.

"You – need a boyfriend."

Storming from the bathroom, Christine frowned deeply and hurried away. "Christy! Come on! Listen to me!" At this comment from Madison Christine spun around to respond, but was unable to. Before she could, she felt her back hit something behind her, and she stumbled, falling towards the floor.

"Whoa – Ah!"

Just before she fell to the floor, two strong arms grasped her waist. Shocked by the sudden warmth around her, Christine felt her cheeks flush, quickly glancing over her shoulder to her savior. Madison was beaming.

"Hey, you okay, babe?" The silver haired man helped Christine to her feet, giving her a warm suggestive smile.

Shocked and wide eyed, Christine backed away as a reflex, trying to gain control over again. "Y – Yes. I'm fine." Backing towards her friend, Christine hung her head, hiding behind her hair.

Madison elbowed her from behind. Almost as if she knew what the other girl was thinking, Christine straightened up and spoke again. "Uh – T – Thank you." She mumbled, not looking him in the eye.

The man smirked a little, a twinkle in his eye. "Welcome, babe." As he walked by, the man let his hand pass through Christine's hair, ruffling it a little, before he moved on and walked into the bathroom behind them. For a moment, the two girls stared in shock. Flustered and surprised, Christine slowly raised her hands to adjust her hair. Giggling madly Madison jumped for joy.

"Oh, Christy, this is fate!"

"His hand probably had germs. Probably really gross… or something…"

"Oh, come on!"

Madison quickly dragged her back into the other room and sat her down. "This is great!" The girl giggled and leaned close to her friend. "Now, listen really closely, I've got a great plan."

"Oh joy." Still fixing her hair, Christine obliged and leaned towards her friend.

Madison glanced around, before whispering to Christine. "This place has a job opening – for pizza delivery."

Christine stared dumbly. "You're kidding me."

"Oh, come on, just listen!" Madison leapt up, grabbed Christine's arm and pulled her up towards the wanted poster. "Look, it's really good pay."

Christine rolled her eyes. "It's a pizza joint."

Ignoring the brunette, Madison pulled her up to the counter, where a young man stood. "Tell her what you told me." She insisted, finally letting go of Christine's shoulder.

The man was a little flustered, but he spoke. "We have a job for a delivery person, and it really does pay well. Almost 4000$ a month." Eyes wide, Christine gawked at the man. "4000 a month? Bull!" There's a reason." Madison whispered, giggling. She motioned for the man to continue.

"That man you saw – he's Dante, the killer for hirer." Christine turned a little pale at this, but Madison hardly noticed. "He's our highest paying customer. Buys at least 10 a week, and only from here. Usually he doesn't come in like he did today – usually it's delivered." "This is important how?" Christine wondered.

"He's why the delivery people here are paid so much!" Madison giggled. "There's only one delivery person, and they get paid a lot because –" She left the dramatic pause and let the man finish, biting her lip anticipatorily.

He gulped. "The – the last two delivery people – they died." Christine blanched, even more pale than before. "No way." She backed away from the counter slowly.

"Killed by Dante's enemies in the crossfire of his battles. Or because they were in his part of town. All by mistake, but since Dante's so important, the company still hires one delivery person – and for that price. Take it or leave it." A woman behind them finished the story as she cleaned tables. Christine looked ready to faint.

"First you want me to go back to college, now you want me to work here? Not just at a pizza store – but as a delivery girl to hell?" She gawked, heart racing.

"This is your chance! There's no way that flirt will let a girl like you die! You can see him again, definitely!" Madison giggled.

"And why would I want to?" Frowning, trying to return her heart beat to normal, Christine shook her head and leaned against the counter. Just as she spoke these words, the silver haired enigma, Dante, came out of the hallway. His pizzas were waiting for him at the counter; he quickly strode over and paid for his meal. Christine felt her heart racing again – for a different reason. Color rushed to her face as he sauntered by, glancing over at them.

"Be careful out there. Clumsy little thing like you might get hurt". He joked with a wink.

Realizing the man was making fun of her, Christine's cheeks turned brick red and the veins on her face pulsed. "I'm not clumsy!" She shouted impulsively, furious. Dante's laughter could be heard even as he left, hoping onto his motorcycle, and with a roar, driving off. Frustrated, Christine ran out after him, calling for him.

"Hey! I said I'm not clumsy!" She impulsively removed her shoe and tossed it after him, missing by a mile. The man disappeared into the night, his engine roaring out in the darkness.

Chest heaving, heart beating, her emotions ranging wildly, Christine stood in the dark unsure of what she was doing. Calming herself, she sighed, brushing her forehead off.

Madison walked out of the store, a smug grin on her face. She'd paid the bill, and in her arms had both her back pack and Christine's. With a smug smile, she passed the bag to her.

"That's why." She insisted, sauntering off to get her friend's shoe. Gawking as she walked off, Christine felt her heart race again. She saw the silver haired beauty in her minds eye. He was… so… so brash! So annoying! So… gorgeous… so unlike anyone she'd met or dated. This "Dante" was different."

"Dante…" She whispered. She liked the name on her tongue. It made her face flush.

Madison sighed contently, shaking her head as she retrieved her friend's shoe. "Here, silly, you want this back?" She asked aloud, but when she looked back there was no one there.

Christine rushed back into the pizza restaurant, one shoe on, one off, and slammed her hands on the counter, a very determined look on her face.

"I'll take the job!"

0-0-0

The museum was empty at this time of night, but for guards and security cameras. Those sorts of things couldn't stop him, not with his power and his abilities. Like a jaguar silently treading through the forest, he sauntered through the halls searching for his prey.

It wasn't long before he found it; the stone, hidden beneath a glass case, pulsating under the pressure of his aura. It shone a deep red, was smaller than his palm, and rested beneath a description of its creator. Coveting it, desiring it, he felt the power course through him as he reached for it. Slowly, he reached towards it.

Suddenly, the red color flashed, and a sharp pain rushed through his hand and up his arm. Gasping he fell back, clutching the injured flesh weakly.

He got the message; he couldn't have it, not yet. In its present state, no demon could touch it. Only a human could take it from the museum… only a human.

Thoughts clicked in his mind. He'd have to find her… only she would do. It was poetic justice of an amazing scale. Slowly laughter filled the halls of the museum as his plan fell into place.

He would have the stone. The human would take it for him.

He need only wait.

0-0-0

HELLO THERE!

This is the authoress speaking, _________, at your service! I've wanted to experiment with romance stories for a while and decided to use Dante for the experiment.

If you are a reader of my other stories, I have not forgotten them! I have an upcoming break and I will be writing during that time! I really hope to write another chapter of ______ and my Marluxia story for _______.

This chapter was just a taste, but I hope you all enjoyed it. Please come again!

About to fall asleep in her chair, _________


	2. Attacking the Hot Guy

The night would've been really peaceful and quiet if he hadn't been driving home on a motorcycle. But then, peace wasn't a word Dante would use to describe anything in his life. Not his job, his ride, his house, not himself most definitely. There was no peace - most especially none in his mind.

He felt like he was off his game today – acting like a stupid little school boy. But for some reason he saw the girl out of the corner of his eyes, and sure, he thought she was cute. But thinking a girl is hot is different from waiting until they immerge from the rest room to talk to them. And he didn't even talk to her. He stood there and she bumped into him. Dante groaned and shook his head. Why was he acting like a dork?

He'd never lost his cool around a girl before. So, he had to get it back. That was why he made sure to stroll by the girl and make a saucy exit.

But even after laughing and driving off into the night, the girl's protests left far behind him, something still didn't feel right. The girl was not that hot. (Compared to her friend, she was flat as a board.)

Frowning, Dante drove faster. Nothing distracts better than the wind winding like a stream around your body. That and going home and popping one of Enzo's DVD's into the DVD player - followed by a nice, cold shower.

"Plenty of chicks in the sea" he grinned, revving the motor and speeding home, his yummy, tasty pizzas in hand.

PIZZA DELIVERY

Love at First Slice!

Chapter Two: Attacking the Hot Guy

When Christine walked into her house at 11:00 that night, she collapsed onto the sofa and laid there for a second. Her mind was reeling with thoughts about school, her new job, and the man she'd seen… Dante… Christine groaned and shook her head. She was not going to let a silly, full of himself man distract her. She took the job just to prove a point to Madison.

Yeah – that was it. She was just proving to Madison she didn't need Dante and that … that… surely she was proving something? Sighing, Christine sat up when the phone rang, reaching over to pick it up.

"Hello?"

_Christy? That you?_

Grinning Christine nodded. "Hey, Dad"

_I got a call from Maddy – she mentioned something about me having a son in law soon?_

Christine groaned and hung her head. "Madison is obsessed with making me date this guy we met today. She's a freak."

_I was wondering if you were still the little girl I knew – always the one to sock the guy in the face before saying so much as hello to him!_

Giving a laugh, Christine swung her legs up onto the sofa. "Yeah, still the same Dad."

_But you know, it would be nice to know my girl's being taken care of._

"I don't need some foolish guy to take care of me. I can handle my own." She frowned.

_With a pizza delivery job?_

Grimacing, Christine swore to harm Madison the next time they met. "She told you that? She practically black mailed me into it!"

Laughing her father responded, _That's not a bad job for having while you attend school. You don't need a big, full time job yet._

Christine grimaced worse. At least Madison hadn't told her father she didn't want to attend school anymore… "Yeah, I know."

_Well… anyway, Barty called._

Christine sat up straight, eyes wide. "Grampy?"

_He wanted to talk to you, so I gave him your new cell phone number. He said he'd call sometime this weekend. Honey, you wouldn't know anything about Mom and Josh arguing with him would you?_

Confused, Christine said no. "I think they're on good terms…" She trailed off.

_I mentioned your step father and Barty just seemed to shut up; I think they're mad at him for sponsoring my new business._

"Look, I don't want to know about the family drama, I just want to sleep." Shaking her head, Christine rolled her eyes.

_All right honey… I love you._

Sighing, Christine let a small serene smile appear on her lips. "Love you, dad."

_Good night!_

Christine hung up and groaned, falling back onto the sofa. "Wonder what grandpa wants…" Dropping the phone on the floor, Christine pulled the pillow under her head and made herself comfortable.

To attend or not to attend? School was at the forefront of her mind, a huge problem, and something to dread. With all her heart she wanted to leave it behind forever… but she knew that would hurt those she loved. And it was true; a degree would help her get a job. It would get her more pay. But what did she care about money, security? Nothing really interested her. But she hadn't said that to her father.

Last time she'd mentioned her lack of interest in everything; her father had blamed her mother. She mentioned her boredom with everyday life to her mother and her mom blamed her dad. She tried talking to Josh about it, and as the step father of the family he tried not to blame anyone; he was actually the most help, telling her to continue with school, to try and find a job that really did peak her interest.

She loved writing – but she hated working. Any job requiring those two things together was a bust. She liked physical work, but that got boring eventually. The best thing to do was to save up money, attend school, and write in her spare time. This at that moment looked like her only option.

Christine forced the subject of school to the back of her mind and wondered about her grandfather. He was rich and lived far off in the country – what did he want with her? It was rare he called her up, unless he'd heard she needed support or if it was her birthday. When Grampy did call, they'd talk for hours. Smiling, Christine anticipated a call from her grandfather, Bartholomew.

After these thoughts dissipated, school came back to mind. A pile of schoolwork sat on her desk, unfinished. Sighing, Christine approached the work.

"Damn it…"

Groaning she sat down and picked up a pen, looking through what she needed to finish. It was all easy, but a large load of work. The only thing to do was to get started.

-0- love me hate me -0-

It took her at least two hours, but Christine finally finished her homework and some work not yet due. It actually felt nice to have it all done – like she'd accomplished something.

Christine had to admit, as much as she said school was boring, it gave her something to do – when her professor wasn't being an ass. Mostly, it was a nice experience – until she let her pride get involved. Sighing, the tired girl looked at her watch. It was 1:34 in the morning, and her stomach was growling. But just as she was standing to get something to eat, the phone rang again.

"Grampy?" She grinned, hoping it was her grandfather. Practically hopping over to the phone Christine grabbed it and placed it on her ear.

"Hello?" Her grin fell a bit. Christine listened, confused. "Already? Jeez… okay, I'll be right there…"

Christine hung up the phone, rolled her eyes, and slipped her shoes on.

"This Dante really must be a pig…"

-0- love me hate me -0-

By the time you could say "Dante is a pig" Christine was dressed in her blue and red uniform, three pizzas in hand, jumping into a pizza delivery cab.

"I look like such a freak." She groaned, trying to straighten the horribly wrinkled shirt. She gave up, put the pizzas on the seat next to her, and drove off into the night.

Since she was good with directions she didn't get lost, but Christine had to take a second look when glancing around for the place. The giant "Devil May Cry" sign was a giveaway, but it looked like such a dump on the outside. Slowing to a stop, Christine shut the car off and picked up the pizzas. But before she stepped out, she looked out her window – and that was a good thing.

Just as she did blood splattered on her windshield and she shrieked in surprise. Hand over her heart the girl set the pizzas down and stood out of the car, ducking when something that looked like a head zoomed over her car.

A horrible roar shook the area, and Christine reached for her mace. But, before she could, the sound was silenced. For a moment, Christine stood there, silently. When footsteps approached, she prepared herself, pulling her mace out of her back pocket… she moved towards the car and placed the car door between herself and the enemy… a form came out of the fog…

"Hey, are you – AUGHHH!"

Before the man could blink, Christine leaned over and sprayed him, and then jumped back in her car, shut the door, and turn the ignition. In a flash she was backing up, heading out, the sounds of whoever she'd sprayed drowned out by her engine. Before she could drive off, a hand grabbed the car door, which hadn't shut quite correctly.

"Damn it!" Christine cursed, pulling back out. Another hand seized her can and tossed it away and somehow that hand holding her door was strong enough to keep her car from moving. "COME ON!" Christine roared, and suddenly her car door came off the car and she was gone, driving off into the night.

She kept driving until she was almost to the pizza place, and then she drove off the road, stood out of her car and screamed. Collapsing to her knees Christine pulled out her phone, shivering as she did so. When the pizza place answered, she screamed again, really, really loudly. And then she hung up.

"Damn it!" She cursed, tossing her phone into the grass. Her first job and she finished it with blood on her car, a missing door, no mace, and she didn't even deliver the pizzas. What were those things that had been screaming? And who in the world killed them?

And that person who'd come at her…

"Come on, think logically…" Christine tried to calm herself as she wiped sweat off her forehead. She'd been told Dante was some sort of killer for hire, right? Maybe he killed those monsters. So, he was really a monster hunter… she'd always thought there was more to the world than it seemed, but monsters? Crawling over to her phone, Christine dialed Madison's number.

_Hello?_

"I hate you!" Christine growled. Madison, half asleep, moaned in response.

_What happened this time?_

Christine explained what had happened, and how her car had gotten wrecked. She left out the part where she screamed at her phone. When she was done, Christine sat back in the car and waited for a response.

_You idiot!_ Madison giggled. _That person you sprayed was Dante!_ HAHAHA!

Christine turned pale.

_He gets in battles all the time. But I suppose your fear and nerves made you think they were monsters… they were probably like ninjas or mobsters or something!_

"Oh yes, monsters are illogical, but ninja mob members, that makes sense." Christine moaned, realizing her horrible mistake. "Oh gosh, now I have to go give him his pizza."

_Remember, thirty minutes or it's free!_ With one last giggle, Madison hung up.

0-0

When Christine's beaten, lacking of door, blood soaked pizza delivery cab pulled up in front of Devil May Cry again, a figure was sitting on the front steps. Silver hair drenched in sweat, his coat ripped and on the floor next to him, Dante hand a wet cloth in his hands, trying to rub his eyes clean.

Christine frowned deeply, feeling nervous, her heartbeat quickening. How could she have been so stupid? Sighing, Christine picked up the pizzas and walked up to Dante.

"Uh… here are your pizzas." She muttered, walking up with them in hand. "They – They're free. And I'm uh... sorry about the eyes."

Unsure of what to do, Christine stood there, watching Dante vigorously rub his eyes clean. Then, he threw the cloth behind him and looked up at her, and Christine felt her heart skip a beat when those green eyes looked at her.

"You know, next time someone's worried about you, try not to spray them in the eyes!" Dante told her, rubbing his eyes again. Taken back by his words, Christine frowned and stepped back when Dante reached for his food.

"Excuse me, but how do you expect me to react when I see blood everywhere and then some stranger comes at me and I can't even see? Next time don't just come at me like that!"

Dante was surprised by Christine's sudden response, and he crossed his arms and frowned. "Oh, so I should announce myself before approaching her majesty?" An eyebrow disappeared beneath his bangs.

"Y – Yes." Christine nodded. "I mean, I'm not royalty, but it's scary when all of the sudden somebody's head flies over your car and then somebody else is coming towards you out of the fog!"

"Oh, so I'm scary?" Dante smirked, hands on his hips.

"Just your face." Christine retorted. Dante's smirk dropped.

For a moment, the two stood silently across from each other, Dante's tall form intimidating the smaller girl. Fidgeting, Christine finally sighed and held the pizzas out for him. "I really am sorry." She muttered, eyes glancing at the ground. Dante looked surprised at her rather modest look, and he took the meal from her.

"You know… you could really apologize by coming in and having dinner with me." Dante grinned, nodding his head towards the house.

Christine's jaw dropped.

"What? I just apologized! And I am not letting you hold this against me just to get me to do what you want!" She told him, hands on her hips.

"And I'm not even hungry. I ate already." So she was starving. He didn't know that. At least, not until her stomach rumbled. Flushing, Christine crossed her arms. Victorious Dante sauntered up to the door, holding it open for her. Christine stood her ground.

"You haven't even apologized. You scared me to death! And ripped off my car door!" Christine swung her arms back towards her cab.

Dante rolled his eyes, as if tired with the details.

"Okay, all right, I'm sorry. Now are you hungry?" Dante nodded towards his house again.

Christine frowned. Every cell in her body wanted to go back to her doorless cab and drive home. She had school in the morning. And it was almost 2:00! But somehow, her feet were carrying her indoors, and before she knew it, Dante walked in behind her and the door slammed shut.

0-0-0

"So, did you always have that pizza job or did you sign up for me?"

Christine flushed red at Dante's words, and thought mentally that the man didn't know just how close he was to the truth. But she didn't let him know that. "I needed a job while going to school, and pizza happened to be simple enough."

Dante grinned and set the pizzas on the counter, lifting the box and grabbing a slice. "So what happened to those two you got earlier?" Christine asked.

Mouth full of food, Dante muttered, "Demons" but it sounded like

"Bbemns" to Christine. He repeated the word when he finished his bite.

"Demons?" Christine asked incredulously.

"Those things you saw me fight earlier; Demons, straight from hell." Dante grinned. He motioned to the box in front of him. "Pizza?"

"Okay, wait a minute…" Shaking her head, Christine frowned. "You're telling me that those things… were demons? Like, bible demons from hell?"

"That's them." Dante brought a can of beer out of the fridge. "Want some?"

Christine stared at him. "I think I may need some." Dante grabbed a can and handed it to her.

"Not even going to ask if I'm 21?" Christine asked, popping the lid.

"Are you?" He wondered, finishing his first slice.

"No" Christine took a large swig of the drink. Then she picked up a piece of pizza, taking a big bite of it. Once she downed that, she turned back to Dante with a sickened face. "How do you drink that stuff?" She continued eating the pizza hoping to rid herself of the vile taste.

"And that's why beer is for grown ups." Dante taunted her. Christine made a face. Dante pulled over two stools for them. "So I told you what I do. You said you go to school?"

"College." Christine told him. "I'm majoring in Literature. But I tell you it is one of the worst experiences of my life." She told him.

"Really?"

"I was going to quit after my English professor used me as an example for the 100th time. But I didn't – don't ask me why, I don't know."

Sighing Christine grabbed another slice of pizza. "Is this really all you eat?" She wondered, taking a big bite.

"I like strawberry sundaes, too. That and pizza… or even on pizza!" Dante grinned at the thought, but Christine just shook her head.

"Ice cream and pizza. You are like a little kid – how are you in such good condition?" She wondered, setting her pizza down. "Got anything to drink but this vile crap?" Christine stood with the beer can in hand.

"Soda in the fridge." Dante commented, and Christine walked over to

"Don't call me a little kid when you can't stomach alcohol."

Grinning Dante finished his third slice and turned to look at Christine over his shoulder. "So, you like my condition, huh?"

Christine, how had pulled a soda out of the fridge to try, spat out what she'd been drinking. "What – what makes you say that!?" Other than the fact it's true…

"You said yourself I'm in good condition." Dante smirked, standing up to get another drink. He rounded around Christine, who turned to argue.

"I said I was surprised you were when all you eat is junk food! I mean, if you can kill demons…" Christine trailed off, grabbing another piece of pizza and leaning against the counter.

"Jeez you sure think you're right all the time, don't you?" Dante laughed.

"Only when I am right." Christine told him, though a small smile came to her lips. Dante smiled and didn't sit back down, just stood by the counter like Christine was.

"What in the world possessed you to kill demons?" Christine wondered.

"Somebody's got to." Dante told her, opening his beer.

"I suppose it's more than that, but I shouldn't impose since I don't know you that well." Christine murmured. Giving her a weird look, Dante shrugged.

"Keep bringing me pizza you'll learn there's not much to know." Dante smirked.

"I doubt that." Christine smirked. Dante picked up another slice and she grimaced. "Dear lord, how can you eat that much? I'm getting sick just looking at you."

"Hey, that's below the belt." With one big bite, Dante tore his fifth piece in half. "I don't look that bad and you know it."

"And so do you from the sounds of it – self centered jerk." Christine muttered. Dante just grinned.

"Ha! I got you to admit it! That's a start!"

"What? I didn't admit anything! You are delirious." Christine shook her head. "A start to what?" She wondered.

Finishing the slice in his hand, Dante looked to Christine and winked. "The start of a beautiful relationship."

"I'm just the pizza delivery girl." Shrugging her shoulders, Christine took the empty pizza box and threw it away.

"You make it sound like pizza's not important!" "It's not. It's unhealthy!" Feeling full and sleepy, Christine shook her head at Dante and walked towards the door. "Thanks for the food, but

I have to go; I've got school in the morning – hey, is that?" Gawking Christine turned around to look at Dante's flat screen TV – and the video game system attached to it. Not to mention the games sitting right next to it.

"Brand new?" She whispered quietly. Dante, arms crossed, stood next to her with a smirk.

"Wanna play?"

So began a beautiful relationship – however strange it was.


	3. Annoying the Hot Guy

PIZZA DELIVERY!

Love at First Slice!

Chapter Three: Annoying the Hot Guy

I watched you from the shadows…

I watched from afar…

It is your humanity I love…

Your human heart.

\- Unnamed Novel, C. L. Moss

Needless to say Christine was late to school the next day. She fell asleep on Dante's sofa, and awoke to find his red coat on her. A normal woman might find the gesture endearing and romantic; Christine tossed it off and ran to the bathroom, about to toss up her dinner from the horrid smell of it. Dead demons and male sweat were all over it.

"Dude, Dante, take a bath!" Christine complained between dry heaves. By the time she got to school first period was over, so the woman just slipped into the crowd and moved on to second, her favorite (not) class. Once she survived another period with the professor from hell, not to mention how Sarah Temple kept throwing looks all over the males in the vicinity. And they were certainly throwing back. It made Christine want to throw up (again).

After all her classes were over, and the world started getting darker, Christine drove away with her blood covered, door lacking pizza car straight to her job, with a sour feeling in her stomach.

"You are way behind on deliveries, you've got two uptown and one near the docks… what the hell?" The manager cut off seeing the car.

"Dante" was all Christine said, and that was all it took. It didn't matter to her; by the time she'd changed into her uniform and went outside, a new car was waiting for her.

Delivering pizza, Christine decided, was not her favorite job. She was beginning to wonder why she'd taken it. Dante was just a thorn in her side, and an arrogant one at that, and all the other customers were either pissed off, paying in singles, or asleep when she got to the door. Plus, due to her late arrival to work, most of the pizzas were late. Overall

Christine spent almost one hundred dollars paying for late pizza, which did not put her in a good mood.

At least, she smiled when she got home she'd have no homework to do. She could wait a while before working on her other work that was not yet due; she would instead work on her novel.

0-0-0

There wasn't a time in Christine's life that she could remember where she wasn't telling stories.

From the first moments she could speak, the woman was a story teller. Not the kind of stories she'd get into trouble for; the girl had feared her mother enough to always tell the truth.

Instead, she would daydream often about all sorts of things. A vivid memory in the woman's mind was a time during the winter many years back when a young Christine had looked out the window. White puffs of marshmallow had been floating down out of the sky. Enthralled and astonished the five year old had leapt out of bed and ran outside in her pajamas. The marshmallows were cold on her skin. They tasted like water.

As the rest of her household slept, Christine had wandered through the marshmallow world. The trees became tall licorices that, when licked, tasted rough, and old; the dirt was chocolate that smelt of nature. Skin cold and frozen, the girl had spent an hour alone in her candy world, before her mother, outraged and scared out of her mind, found her. She'd gotten a good spanking and a talking to, but Christine never forgot the adventure.

She'd been adventuring ever since, in all sorts of places. There was a time when the landing of a staircase could be a floating isle in the middle of nowhere, lost and alone. People could walk up and down the stairs past little Christine and her island and ignore them both, but the girl would stay with the landing so that it would have a friend.

As she grew older her stories became less outlandish and more fantasy, stories of elves and goblins. Writing had become her favorite way of story telling (followed closely by photography and video games). And her project, her novel, was something she slaved over for three years.

Closing the door behind her when she got home, Christine immediately dropped everything at the door, and then ripped off her work clothes then and there. A big black t shirt was lying across the back of her sofa.

She grabbed it, pulled it on, and ran over to her computer. With a flick of her wrist she pulled up Microsoft Word, opened the file, and looked at her work of art.

Pride and joy flowed through her very veins, and warmed her. All the anger and frustration of the day were long forgotten. The writing was all that mattered.

Christine's novel was an adventurous love story, something she'd seen in a dream many years earlier. A young woman, a wanderer with no true bearing in life, befriends a man with many enemies. It was a story of star crossed love, forbidden love, and the writer herself wasn't sure if it had a happy ending or not. The dream she'd had hadn't been that elaborate.

The last bit she'd been writing had been the Drawing Room scene. In Christine's mind she could see the elaborate costumes, the old Victorian room, and the grand piano in the corner. She wasn't sure what time period her story was in; either an alternate universe of some sort, or the past itself. There was a lot about her story she didn't know. Instead of questioning, she just let it free, and let it fall where it may.

In the Drawing Room scene (as she dubbed it), the main character Christiana would first meet the main male character. Christine hadn't named the male yet, and the female hadn't purposefully been named something so close to Christine's name. It had been Madison's idea; the woman had said the name sound regal and beautiful, like the character.

Nothing like me, Christine muttered inside her head. She shook the thought aside. At the computer, writing, she wasn't allowed bad thoughts.

Christiana was feeling angry, uptight, and was overall in a bad mood, which fit how Christine had felt when she'd walked in. Christiana was a member of the gentry, not royalty, but from a line of rich businessmen. But, she had a secret; a half brother born of her father's maid. He was only twelve, and being of impure blood, not allowed to live with the gentry. But Christiana, who loved him more than anyone, took care of him, his mother, and siblings secretly.

That was, until the boy was wrongly accused of being a thief, and forced into slavery. Christiana, enraged, had tried to save him, and was unable. So she did what she thought was best; she snuck into the mansion he'd been forced to work for, and freed him. Her mistake? Getting caught.

The "Drawing Room" scene was the scene where the master of the mansion arrived to speak to Christiana about her crime. Neither of them knew it would change their lives. The scene would end with Christiana taking her brother's place at the mansion; a trick Christine was going to use to force both main characters to meet again, and again, until they fell irrevocably in love.

Madison had been thrilled with the idea, but also laughed at the irony. "You are one of the coldest, most unromantic people I know" She had pointed out. "But this romance looks really romantic!"

The part Madison liked was the reason behind the "forbidden" love. The reason was because Christiana was human gentry – and the male main character was a demon royal. Like the traditional romance novels with dark or vampiric males, Christine's male lead was a creature of darkness.

She wasn't sure why she'd made him that way. It was something from the dream, more than likely – something in his eyes. It was – ethereal. But it felt right. Christiana fell in love with someone not human, not caring about race.

What a big heart, Christine thought with a sputtering laugh. Or maybe a foolish one.

Who would be suicidal enough to love a demon?

0-0-0

It was two o'clock in the morning when Christine's cell phone rang. She'd just finished writing and had taken a shower, and was about to hit the sack when it did. A little hope shot through her, thinking it was her grandfather, but it wasn't. It was the pizza place – Dante had called in for a late deep dish.

Scowling, the woman didn't bother putting on her uniform, just slapped her hat on, and was out the door. She didn't care if they said anything. She was asleep on her feet.

Plus, she was a little peeved about her writing. She still didn't know what to name the male. It was hard to write about someone who didn't have a name. What was she supposed to do? Give him a nickname and fix it later?

Sighing the woman concentrated on driving. Part of her was afraid she'd fall asleep and have an accident. Her father had done that once, and the idea of it happening to her did not appeal to Christine.

Luckily, she picked up the pizzas (they didn't notice the lack of uniform), and made it to Dante's without nodding out. But she wasn't sure she'd make it back.

She thought about sleeping in the car… and quickly decided that was not smart. Dante answered the door without a shirt, with a towel around his neck.

Even half asleep, Christine was very turned on by muscular, half naked Dante. But she'd never admit it.

"Good. You showered." She muttered, holding the pizzas up. Dante gave her a look.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means your jacket smelled like shit and it needs washing. I'm sure you did too."

He frowned. "Gee, glad my sacrifice was appreciated."

"You had a bed." Christine pointed out. "And covering me in your sweat was not a sacrifice; it should be a crime."

"Forgive me, your majesty, I'd forgotten who I was dealing with" Dante smirked, taking the pizzas, and handing her the money.

"Make sure you don't forget again." Christine returned, counting the money. She turned to go and stumbled down the step, catching herself with the railing.

"Whoa! You okay?" Dante was standing next to her in the blink of an eye.

"Fine, just tired" She muttered, walking past him. "See you when you call."

Dante watched her walk for a moment. He watched her stand by the car door, trying to put the keys in the keyhole. Eyes half closed, she stood there half a minute just fidgeting with the keys, trying to shove them in the hole. She was scratching the door.

Rolling his eyes, the man stepped down, took hold of her hand, and inserted the keys. Christine opened the door. "Thanks" Before she could step in, Dante picked the delivery hat off her head, threw it in the car, and shut the door. Then he took the keys from her.

"Hey!" Christine complained, waking up a little bit. "Those are mine!"

"What kind of a man would I be if I let a beautiful woman drive away in a daze?" Dante, standing at the top of the stairs, turned and looked at her. "You should feel lucky; this'll be your second night over, and I haven't even seduced you yet."

"Yet?" Christine cocked an eyebrow. She moved up the stairs, snatching the keys, and then elbowed him in the gut. "Sorry buddy, but 'yet' is not the phrase."

Dante, kneeled over, smirked through his cringe. "Playing hard to get?"

"Hardly" The woman walked over, collapsed on the sofa, and fell asleep almost immediately. Dante hadn't even had time to make a comeback before she was out. Really must've been tired, the man thought, taking the pizza in. He already had one in his hands, about to devour it.

As he ate, the looked around the room. Dante picked up his red jacket, and was about to throw it over the girl when he suddenly made a face. He brought it closer to his face, and sniffed it, then cringed horribly.

"Damn, she's right!" Dante tossed the jacket away. As he walked off to grab a blanket, he couldn't help but think: when isn't she right?

0-0-0

Marilyn Young waited until her husband was asleep to take a shower. She liked crying in the shower better, because it felt like someone was crying with her. Usually she wasn't so depressed that she would cry – but it was that time of year again. The anniversary of the worst day of her life – her first wedding.

Her first wedding had been a last minute thing, a pity decision, something she'd been forced into and something she'd resigned herself too. For many years, out of love for her daughter, Marilyn had tried to make it work. But unmanaged hatred and searing pain had torn her heart apart, and her old husband had been a daily reminder of it. A divorce was imminent.

Marilyn hadn't expected to love ever again. She couldn't, really. Love had been ripped from her heart. But, she still cared. She had come to care for Josh.

Josh had come to her during a time in her life where Marilyn could've died and not cared. And though she could never love him, and though he knew it, he had still courted her. She been completely against marriage, but it had been inevitable. Of course, it had enraged her daughter, Christine. She hadn't understood why her parents had separated in the first place. And if Marilyn had her way, she'd never understand. No matter how much she asked about it, Marilyn never told her about the divorce, or about why she hated her father, Christine's grandfather, Bartholomew Moss.

It wasn't any of the girl's business. Over time, she'd stopped asking. She come to accept it, and even come to like Josh. It was impossible to not like Josh. Yet, for Marilyn, it was impossible to love him.

She could be his faithful wife, and she could put up with her father. She would do her best to take care of Christine. Marilyn would wake up every morning like nothing was wrong. All she asked was to have that night shower, that time of tears, whenever she needed. And year after year, anniversary after anniversary, she always did.

Marilyn tried to keep the memories back. But from the back of her mind, his voice beckoned… Lynn… Lynn… a nickname that hadn't been used in years…

Eventually she shut the shower off, dried herself, and got back in bed. The memories were still there, but the tears had dried up. The anniversary had come and gone. But his face was still in her mind…

_Lynn… Lynn… I love you, Lynn…_

0-0-0

Another day of school and pizza delivery went by with many problems and many hitches. Christine did horribly in her science period, but she'd never been good at science anyway. Too may rules, too little time. The flat tire during her delivery route had been the icing on the cake. Somebody loves screwing with me… The girl frowned.

Still, she felt very good inside. She could act as mean and irritable as she wanted, but a light hearted feeling danced through her stomach.

Christine had had dreams of Dante, shirtless, holding her against his chest… she was very glad she hadn't moaned aloud. If Dante ever caught her in the act of having a naughty dream about him… she'd never live it down.

When she had awoken, two cold pieces of pizza had awaited her for breakfast. Not the best, but at least they were free. But to make up for the unhealthy food, Christine had a salad for lunch.

Of course, she lost more money when she was late to three deliveries, thanks to the flat tire. She was losing more money on the job than she was gaining.

When she got home, Christine worked on some homework, reviewed her novel a little, and was greatly surprised by the lack of Dante calling for pizza. It was strange not hearing from the man. He'd become a

routine.

Collapsing on the sofa, Christine began thinking. She didn't think of anything in particular, just thought. That was, until the phone rang.

Dante, I bet… The girl sat up and reached for the phone. "Hello?"

"Christine!" Surprised by the frightened voice on the phone, the woman stood.

"Who is this?"

"Christy, it's your grandfather." Suddenly the deep baritone was familiar.

"Grampy? What's wrong?" She began to pace, feeling something was horrible wrong.

"We need to speak; in private. You must come to my residence as soon as possible."

Confused about the sudden urgency, Christine thought about the weekend. "I think Monday's a holiday…"

"Tomorrow, Christy. You must be at the mansion tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" More than shocked, true fear coursed through her veins. "What's going on, grandpa?" It was no use; the man had hung up. That was very strange, and extremely unlike him. Unnerved, Christine set the phone down and sat on the sofa, wide eyed. Unable to think of anything to do, she called the pizza place and told them she would be unable to work the next day. And then, she went to bed, and took an hour to fall into a fitful sleep.


	4. Saved by the Hot Guy

  
It was early morning, and Dante Sparda was asleep at his desk when the phone rang. It shook him from his dreams, which he couldn't remember upon waking. That was odd; his night visions were usually vivid, haunting. But it was probably a good thing he couldn't remember this time; most of his dreams were really nightmares.

The phone rang again, so the sleepy man leaned up and grabbed it. "Devil May Cry, Dante speaking." I really need a secretary for this shit…  
"Hey, Dante!" A female voice giggled. "Remember me?" Dante chuckled back. "Sorry, babe must be amnesia" I didn't date this girl, did I?

"I'm Madison; I was with Christine at the pizza place." Dante's brow furrowed. Christine…

That couldn't be the pizza delivery girl? "The delivery girl?" He asked.

"That's her!"

So that's her name. Note to self; remember pizza girl's name. "So what about her?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to call and ask you something. Are you free sometime next week?"

Dante laughed swinging his legs up onto the desk. "Depends on what I could be doing."

The girl giggled. "Well, if you're interested, I've got a friend who'd love to hang with you. You wanna take her out to dinner sometime next week?"

Curiosity spread over the man's face. "A blind date?"

"Sure! It'll be fun! And you'll like the girl, she's really amazing."

Dante thought about it for a moment, but it didn't take long. "Why the hell not?"

Maddy squealed. "Oh, thank you! How about Monday night?" The two continued to talk about when to set it up and where to go, and once they were done Dante said goodbye and hung up. Whoever Madison was, she was talkative. How a cynical girl like Christine put up with her was beyond him…

Thinking of Christine made Dante smirk. She was one piece of work but she was interesting. She wasn't even that pretty. There was just something about her…

Grinning the man picked his phone back up and dialed the pizza place.

A warm deep dish and a few cutting words from the young woman were just what the doctor ordered…

"Hey, it's me" Dante said when someone answered. "I want the usual."

"I'm afraid we can't deliver it." The man said nervously, sighing. "The delivery girl hasn't been in. She left last night and hasn't showed up since."

Something about that struck a chord in Dante's mind. Perhaps it was instinct, but something felt wrong about the situation. "Has she called at all?"

"Nothing. I haven't got a clue where she is, and we have orders piling up! That girl…" Dante hung up before the rant continued.

The delivery girl… Christine was in trouble. That was what Dante's intuition told him, so he immediately picked the phone up again.  
He looked up Madison's number on his received calls list, and called her back.

"Hey" Dante cut to the chase. "Have you heard from Christine?"

"No. Why? Is something wrong?" Dante gripped the phone tighter.

Something was definitely up.

0-0-0

Christine ears were burning as she drove down the country road towards her grandfather's. She turned the radio down as the mansion came into view, feeling a familiar sense of awe.

Bartholomew's mansion tucked away in the country, hidden down a long dirt road. From far away it didn't look like much, but as you got closer it was easy to see its majesty. It was old and in need of repair, but no one came to fix it because Christine's grandpa wasn't very trusting. Christine had spent some time there as a young child, but had gone less and less as she grew older. It had been years since she'd been there; she missed the place.

A serene smile came to her lips.

"Home away from home" She muttered.

Most of her childhood had been spent in the imposing mansion, until her parents were divorced. Her father received custody, and since Bartholomew was her mother's father, and he didn't like Christine's dad, they stopped visiting. That made Christine worry; it had been years since her grandfather had asked her to come visit. Why was he asking now?

Getting out of the car, Christine locked it and headed towards the door. Two trumpeting angels guarded the front porch, and were tinged green. She remembered them from her childhood too.

Christine rang the doorbell, and a moment later, Bartholomew's butler answered it. As a kid Christine had thought the butler was a vampire, and time had not changed her views. He was a creepy old man.

"Welcome, Miss Christine" He greeted with a boy and a creepy European accent. "Your grandfather waits in the dining room." Christine was suddenly second guessing her visit. Something felt wrong about it all…

Still, she stepped into the mansion, almost expecting to catch on fire when she crossed the threshold, or for monsters to leap out of the shadows. But, there were no demons like those from the alleyway; there was only old artwork of angels and Greek Gods lining the walls.  
"How is Grampy?" Christine asked, trying to break the creepy silence as the butler took her jacket.

"In good health." He replied.

"That's good to know…"

The front halls had always been like a maze, with towering statues at every corner. Somehow the butler knew the way, quickly leading Christine past a slightly nude statue of Artemis, beyond another statue of a man and an angel wrestling, until they finally reached the dining room.

Like all the other rooms in the manor, it was enormous, rich, and imposing. It made Christine feel slightly ill, as if she suddenly had to be on her best behavior.

A long shining table stretched out before her, and to one side a fire crackled in the fireplace. At the end of that long table sat an old man, small, yet not frail nor weak.

With burning eyes he looked up from the newspaper he was reading, and he looked at Christine. The woman's spine trembled. Grampy… seemed different.

He'd always been kind, fatherly to her when she was young. But now… Bartholomew was almost enraged, and she'd only walked through the door.

"Grampy?" Christine muttered. "You all right?" In a moment he blinked, and the fiery anger was gone.

"Christine!" Laughing the old man stood, coming up to about Christine's midsection. He approached her, a soft smile on his face. In his left hand was a cane. "It's been so long. You're a young woman now."

"Hasn't been that long gramps". Christine smiled. She felt a little more at ease. Still… she knew something was wrong.

The older man laughed again, hugging Christine when he reached her. Then he leaned back and examined her face. "You look more like your mother every day."

"Thanks" She smiled. Bartholomew motioned to the table.

"Hungry? I had Aaron prepare your favorite; chicken parmesan." He approached his chair again. "I hope that's still your favorite."  
"It is thanks." She smiled, sitting at the nearest chair. In a mere moment the creepy butler Aaron was in front of her, placing her meal down. It was unsettling. He's like a shadow…

The mansion had certainly grown darker over the years.

0-0-0

Dante was still on the phone when he mounted his bike.

"So, mysterious call from grandpa, then she goes missing?"

"Yeah." Madison said on the line as Dante cranked the vehicle. "He calls all the time, but Chris hasn't actually been to his house in years. Well, okay, it's not a house, but whatever! It's really weird."

"And where would this house that's not a house be?" Dante asked into the phone.

"Outside of town, if you go down the interstate –"

And they were off, Dante on his bike, and Madison guiding him. The silver haired demon hunter had no idea what he was doing. Just because a standoffish woman suddenly visits family does not mean she's in need of help.

But something was off… and Dante always trusted his instincts.

The real question was why he was sticking his neck out anyway. This woman was likely to just give him a headache instead of thanking him for rescuing her.

After getting directions from Madison and hanging up, Dante tucked his phone away.

"I need to get laid." He muttered.

0-0-0

Dinner was awkward. Usually it was so easy to talk to Grampy over the phone, but he was being rather quiet, even standoffish. It made Christine uneasy. Still, she didn't say a word; she knew better, and decided to be polite instead.

But each time she tried talking to him, he seemed to not listen, like he was distracted. Finally, ignoring propriety, Christine simply asked, "Grandpa, is everything all right?"

For the first time that evening her grandfather looked her in the eye. "I'm easy to read aren't I?" He chuckled. Christine did as well, but in truth it was forced. This was all creepy, and Grandpa was as easy to read as a picture book.

"There must be a reason you called me. Is it... mom?" Christine wondered, slightly worried.

The old man sighed. "No, its not your mother." He dabbed his lips with his napkin, sighing again. "I'm afraid I've kept some secrets these past years." Grandpa muttered. "And until now, they haven't mattered. But now I fear for your safety."

Christine's over active writer's imagination immediately made her think of the mafia or a crime gang; she had images of dead bodies in the basement... was that how Grandpa could afford all the fancy artwork?

Almost as if he saw the thoughts on her face, Grandpa Bartholomew laughed. "No, its nothing so serious. Well, not of the kind you are thinking of." He stood, approaching his granddaughter. "Shall we talk of it in the garden?"

With no reason to say no, Christine agreed, though with each passing moment she felt even more sick to her stomach.

0-0-0

As soon as he saw the Mansion at the end of the driveway, Dante was glad he'd come. It reeked of demon filth. Or at least... remnants of it.  
As if someone had been killing them off. But what demon hunter lived in far country like this?

And now that he thought about it, as Dante dismounted his bike, it was weird that demons would attack a mansion like this. At most, there was the owner and the servants living in the house. Very few people, in comparision to the city. So why attack here?

And who was killing them?

With a dark grimace, the man approached the front door, and without knocking, went on in.

0-0-0

A few minutes later, after traversing the art filled, rich hallways, Christine and her grandfather sat in the backyard beneath a weeping willow, in front of a stone mermaid that sat in the center of a pond, and spewed water from its mouth.

"What's going on, grampy?" Christine asked, almost fearing the answer.

The old man sat down by the fountain, and beckoned her daughter to sit beside him.

"I've angered some powerful beings."  
  
This sent a chill down Christine's spine, and she frowned. "Beings?" That didn't sound right. "You don't mean people?"

Her grandfather looked at her meaningfully. "I meant what I said." He let that sink in for a moment.

"So..." She frowned. "They'll target me to get to you." The man nodded.

"That's why I want you to stay here. You'll be safer here." Somehow Christine doubted it, but then she realized her grandfather did have many secrets. Perhaps the mansion would be safe. But even if it was, she didn't want to stay there.

Then she remembered. "I'll be fine." Comforting, she smiled at him. "There's someone in the city, really strong. He owes me a favor." Not true, but she'd find a way. "He can protect me."

Her grandfather seemed kind of suspicious. He cocked a brow. "And who is this man?"

"This guy I met through work. His name's Dante."

At the sound of his name, Bartholomew stood, his eyes alight with fire. "Dante? Dante Sparda?" He asked, his voice thick with rage.

Surprised, Christine stood. "I dunno - I don't know his last name -"

"It's sure to be him. Damn it all! He's a monster! You stay away from him?"

This was another surprise. Sure, Dante was a smart ass, and somewhat a lecher, but he seemed like he had a good heart. Seriously, she'd  
sprayed him in the eyes with pepper spray and he didn't hate her. Where did grampy come across calling him a monster?

In fact, it angered her. She didn't know why, but she was defensive of the man. "What are you talking about? His one of the nicest guys I know! He saved my life."

Sneering, her grandfather glanced back and snapped his fingers. Two big brutes showed up and moved towards her, and Christine backed up.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but its best if you don't leave. I can't let you get hurt." Her grandfather insisted, his eyes hard.

Christine's eyes hardened too. "The only one I'm seeing trying to hurt me is you!"

Then she spun around and ran towards the house.

0-0-0

The house was like a museum. It was almost empty, and very creepy. Dante stepped through the front hall, glancing around. The lack of bodyguards was strange.

Then, with his powerful hearing, he heard a shout far away.

"FUCK OFF!"

0-0-0

Christine wished she were more athletic. Need pushed her, and she turned a corner in the hallway. It was a dead end, but a stairwell was nearby. She raced up it.

This was strange situation indeed. Though she could hardly think about it, because she was being chased by two giant meatheads, Christine knew this was out of character for her grandfather. The entire night had been out of character. Had she ever really known him?  
The thundering steps of her pursuers ringing in her ears, Christine raced out across the hall, which had a balcony that looked over the front hall. A loud whistle came from below.

Christine slid to a halt and looked down. Below, the handsome hunter was waving at her with a smirk.

"Need some help?" Dante asked.

"Yeah. Catch me!" Then Christine jumped over the rail, plummeting towards Dante. Luckily he did catch her, just as the flunkies ran to the balcony.

"And now we run!" Christine tried to leap out of Dante's arms and run towards the door, but he held her tight and ran with her in his arms.

"Hey! I can run!"

"It's faster this way." But the grin on Dante's face said he just wanted to annoy her. But seeing as Christine cared more about escaping at the moment, she let it slide.

"So what'd you do to piss these guys off?" Dante asked as they raced to his bike. He set her down and jumped on, and she got on behind.

"Told em I knew you." She said. Dante laughed.

"Nice." He reeved the bike just as the goons and Christine's grandfather stepped into the yard.

"STOP!" Bartholomew shouted, but Dante was off, his bike roaring down the path. Christine's car was long forgotten.

0-0-0

"You are a lot of trouble." Dante told her over the loud winds blowing by.

"It's all your fault. For some reason he doesn't really like you."

Dante smirked, cocking his head. "I couldn't see why not." Christine rolled her eyes. "He told me I was in danger and I said you'd protect me, then he flipped and tried to imprison me."

Dante glanced behind at her. "Babe, I don't mind helping once or twice, but I need to get paid if I'm going to be somebody's bodyguard."  
Once again Christine's eyes rolled. "I was just trying to placate him. It didn't work."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Frowning, Christine would've hit him if her arms had been wrapped around his waist (which felt very nice; he had such a strong back).

"One of these days I'm going to beat you for that mouth."

"If your into that sweetheart." He winked back at her, and she flushed again. He was such a nuisance.

And so the strange duo rode back into town, not noticing that they were being followed.

0-0-0

Bartholomew was in the sitting room. His butler approached with a cup of tea.

"I can't lose her too." Bartholomew whispered to him.

"Unlike her mother, she has a level head. She will not make the same mistake."

"The heart makes mistakes that the head has no way to stop." He knew this was true, as he had once done the same. It had ruined him, and his family. There was no going back now.

"What are your orders?" The butler asked.

For a moment he was quiet. "My granddaughter is in danger." He muttered. "Kill those who threaten her. Human or otherwise."  
The man bowed.

"As you wish."

0-0-0

About an hour later and the two were back in the city, and a while after that, they were out front of the Devil May Cry building.  
Confused, Christine stared at it as Dante shut the bike off. "This isn't my house."

"You said you wanted protection. And no better protection than living with the bodyguard." Dante said straightforward.

"Wa - wait! You said I had to pay. I don't have money for a body guard." Not when I'm just a delivery girl.

"But your presence is payment enough." The way he said it revealed it to be sarcastic. Christine cocked a brow. For a moment both were quiet; Dante leaning against his door nonchalantly, and Christine staring at him with her arms crossed.

"Could we survive living together?" She asked with a laugh.

"Think of it as a challenge." The man told her, and she nodded.

"That it certainly will be."

"Glad you accept. Cause I certainly don't want to stay at your place."

He turned around and walked inside, shivering. "I might get cooties."

"You're an ass."

Christine walked in just as Dante got a beer out of the fridge. "When can I get my stuff?"

"I'll take you tomorrow." He moved to his desk and collapsed into his chair. "You do have tomorrow off right?"

School, yes, she didn't have to go, but work? "I have to work."

"Actually, you don't." Dante frowned a little. "I called your work, and when you didn't show up today they fired you. Sorry."

Groaning, Christine headed to the fridge to look for food. "That's wonderful."

Then, Christine realized something. Hadn't she gotten the job hoping to see Dante more? And now she was living with him. If that didn't including seeing Dante, then what would? She didn't need the job anymore. So that was fine.

"Hey, you'll be fine. Maybe you could be my secretary."

"You need a maid more than a secretary." Seeing nothing she wanted to eat or drink in his fridge, she settled for a glass of water. "And tomorrow you are taking me shopping."

"Wonderful. Why'd I offer you shelter again?" He muttered.

For once, Christine smiled at him. "Cause you're a nice guy."

Surprised, Dante looked her over as she sat down. "What's the change of attitude?"

Now she was a little embarrassed. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything. But she wasn't one to back down, so she shrugged and explained. "You are. You've said me twice, and for all your smart talk you seem to care." She glanced up at him, and saw he seemed to be thinking it over. So she continued.

"I told my grandpa that, and he told me to stay away from you. He... called you a monster." Her grip on her drink tightened. "It pissed me off. I may not know you well, but from what I've seen you're not, and he didn't have the right to call you that."

"I am though." He muttered. Christine glanced up at him. He had a subdued look about him, for once.

"You are what?"

Dante waited for a moment. "A monster." Confused, Christine listened intently. "Those demons I fight... I'm one of them."

He looked her in the eye.

"I'm a half demon."


	5. Comforting the Hot Guy

A demon.

That was what her grandfather had meant. Dante was a demon. Or, half demon he had said.

Christine's hand trembled, and the drink in her hand fell to the floor with a loud clunk. At the sound of that, Dante hung his head. All was quiet, until Dante's chair scooted back, and he stood, and left the room.

0-0-0

_You shouldn't have said anything._

A terrible grimace came across his handsome face. He never told people about his heritage, and especially not someone he'd just met.

Why had it slipped out? Why? Whatever chance he'd had with her was out the window. He could kill himself at the moment.

With a groan, he fell back against the wall and hung his head. For once he wanted to be in a relationship with someone who wasn't paid. Heck!

He wanted to actually know a girl. To love her. And he had thought, maybe, Christine would give him the chance.

But dropping the "demon" bomb on her so soon probably killed any chances. Dante could almost cry. But devils don't cry, he thought bitterly, and instead he clenched his fists.

0-0-0

Christine touched her cheek with her trembling hand. Then she cursed herself. Instinct had taken over, reminding her of her few encounters with demons. Scaring the crap out of her. And of course, Dante had left, likely insulted. She immediately felt guilty, and stood to chase after him, to apologize.

Then she stopped.

Had it been yesterday? Or the day before? She had been writing at her computer, thinking that her main female character was probably foolish for falling in love with a demon. That demons likely were not good companions. Christine had been thinking how foolish it would be to care for something that was inclined to kill.

And now... she was rushing after Dante. Her heart hurt for him, and she barely knew him. Such a quick change, and she'd hardly noticed the change happening.

But now whatever instinct told her "demon bad, human good" had been silenced. So far Dante had only helped her; he'd put up with her, saved her life, even given her a place to stay so she'd be safe. She owed him. And she certainly didn't want to insult him.

So she hurried down the hallway and up the stairs after him. The girl was surprised to see him leaning against the wall, looking angry and dejected. He didn't seem to notice her at first.

Guilt made Christine's heart plummet, and she suddenly did something she never would've done in normal times. She hugged Dante. The man seemed just as shocked as Christine was; she couldn't believe she was doing it. But she couldn't let him think that his race meant anything to her. Dante was warm to the touch, and his abs didn't just look rock hard, they were. But Christine tried not to think of that.

"I don't care what you are and you shouldn't either. Don't sulk about it. You can't change it." Christine realized her past comments of Dante needing a bath were wrong; he smelled very nice. A sweet aroma of masculinity, leather, and ironically, pizza.

Dante wasn't sure what to think. His heart was beating fast and the blood was racing through his veins. Why did this girl have such an effect on him? And why did her acceptance make his heart sing? He smiled, leaning his chin onto the top of her head.

Christine stiffened at the touch, but didn't flinch away. Breathe in. Breathe out. She didn't need to freak out, it was just a hug, just a hug with a really attractive, nice guy who had saved her life, and he was putting his arms around her waist...

"Sorry for dropping that one on you." Dante said.

"What? The demon thing?" Christine shrugged, moving slightly in his arms. "I said it doesn't matter."

"You're kidding? Half the world would disagree with you."

Christine chuckled. "More than half. And the world and I never agree much anyway." Dante chortled at that. Holding him while he laughed, his chest vibrating, felt kind of nice. Comforting.

But all good things must end and eventually they two let go of one another. As they did, Dante smirked at her. He shook his head, as if repelling something.

"What?" Christine wondered. Dante just looked at her again,

chuckling, and walked away. "What!?" She demanded, suddenly afraid something was wrong. Was her shirt inside out? Was there food on her face? The man just kept chuckling as he walked away.

"You hungry?" he asked, turning around to look upstairs. "Let's order pizza."

0-0-0

Dinner was hilarious. Christine hadn't ever laughed so much, even with Madison. Somehow the scene from earlier had made the both of them relax more around one another. Likely it was because Dante felt more accepted, and Christine felt more trusted. After dinner they played videos games, mainly competitive ones so they could argue back and forth. It was like a drug for them.

Later came the decision of who would sleep where. "You can take the bed. It'll be the first time a woman's ever slept there without me." Dante winked at her and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not gonna kick you out of your own bed."

"Well I won't put you on the sofa." Dante told her.

Christine glared at him. "I've got an idea." She smirked.

0-0-0

Dante's bed had been cut in half by a wall of pillows, most of which had been removed from the sofa. On each side was situated one person; on the left, Dante, sleeping shirtless, and on the right Christine, who was wearing her own clothes still.

"How innovative." Dante complained. "You managed to leave me no room at all without even taking up the space yourself. Genius."

Christine frowned. "I have a cousin who always spent the summer sleeping in my bed. She was a spazz who always had to have this wall of pillows between us. That gave me the idea."

"Did she sleep on the edge of the bed, too?"

Christine shoved one of the pillows over the edge so that it fell on Dante's face.

The man sat up, smirking at her. "You looking for a fight?"

The girl laughed. "What, a pillow fight? The great Dante? You're kidding me."

He sobered a little, and laid back down. "My brother and I had them as kids. Kinda funny actually."

"Why is that?"

"We never really got along once we grew up."

Christine understood. "Happens a lot with siblings."

Sometime after that the two became quiet, and Christine drifted off to sleep.

0-0-0

Some point in the night Dante left, and Christine awoke to an empty room.

She promptly shoved the wall of pillows aside and took the whole bed for herself. The pillow that Dante had used she tucked under her head, taking in the scent. For a while she drifted between sleep and consciousness.

Perhaps an hour later she woke up when a pillow hit her head. Sleepily, she sat up and glared daggers at Dante.

"Hey!" She spat.

"Hey. My spot." Dante pointed out, removing his jacket.

"You left." Christine pointed out, but she let him have it, backing away. She collapsed on the remnants of the pillow wall.

Dante then fell back on the bed. "Duty calls. When demons attack, I kick their asses, no matter the time of day."

"Poor baby." Dante chuckled.

Dante fell asleep quickly, but Christine was finally awake. She got up, looking over her friend with a smile. Then she left the room.

She needed to go to her house, and then some shopping needed to be done. First, she'd call Madison. Her friend would be eager to hear any news about the "Dante" situation. Thinking of last night made Christine smile, and blush in a shy, yet happy school girl way. Grabbing a piece of paper off of Dante's desk, she wrote a note to him, left it on the counter near an empty beer bottle, then pulled out her cell phone.

0-0-0

"You two are such a cute couple!" Madison squealed as she and Christine entered the grocery store.

Christine rolled her eyes. "Speak louder, Madison, I don't think the people three aisles over heard you." Madison smacked her arm.

"And about that grandpa of yours... what was that about his being a sweet old man?"

Sighing, Christine shrugged. "I thought he was. Guess I was wrong." She shuddered. "I wonder who it is that's after him."

"Hopefully the police." Madison muttered. Christine pulled a jug of milk out of the freezer and put it in the cart.

"No. Well... ai yai yai. I don't know. Surely he was doing what he thought was right..."

"Locking you up." Madison pointed out dryly, motioning to her friend with a loaf of bread. Christine took it from her and put it in the cart.

"To protect me." She defended.

"From your friend, and potential lover, who he called a monster."

Frowning, Christine sighed.

"Yeah, there was that..." Christine had told Madison everything about the night before, except for Dante being a demon. She had talked about the "fight", for lack of a better term, but had not elaborated on what it had been about.

Madison grabbed a bag of potato chips and tried to put them in the cart, but Christine vetoed it. "Ah ah!" She set them back on the shelf. "Dante's unhealthy enough with his pizza and ice cream."

Two hours later they were finally done, and Christine had all the supplies she'd need to fill Dante's kitchen with real food. Most of it was healthy, lacking in partially hydrogenated anything, and it all passed Christine's health criteria. Except for soda. But she figured she had to have something good tasting to drink that wasn't beer.

From there, they went to Christine's apartment. "Just wait out here, I'll only be a minute." Christine told her friend. Madison nodded, turning up the radio as her favorite CD played.

Christine disappeared into her apartment. Once inside, the girl went to her closet and grabbed a black duffel bag.

She hauled it to her room to fill with clothes and necessities. Dancing to the tune by shaking her head, Madison didn't hear someone tap on the car window. The second time it was louder, and she looked up.

There stood Dante, dressed and awake. He waved, and grinning, Madison rolled down her window.

"If you're looking for Christine, she's within." She waved her hand towards the apartment building.

"Why, thank you." Meanwhile, Christine was busy packing. She grabbed her face wash and tooth brush, female supplies, clothes, a book or two, and some other things she thought she'd need. While she packed she thought of her novel.

Her demon male character was taking shape in her mind... she'd spent her morning imagining him when she'd been half asleep in bed. Now she was trying to think about how to write his entrance. It was very important. He needed to be somewhat suave... yet distant. Elegant, yet grating. In other words, he had to be someone that her main character

Christiana would want, but who wasn't perfect, and had some issues. Suddenly it hit her. She already knew someone likable, yet totally annoying...

She could base her main character off of Dante! Hell, she could use his name. She needed a name. Though there was the problem of her main female having a name similar to hers. Someone could look at it and think she was inferring that she liked Dante, which she did, but that was besides the point.

Then again, the only one she didn't want to see it was Dante. But Christine doubted that he ever read books, if he could even read. Should she risk it?

With the idea fresh in her mind, Christine set her bag of things by the door and went to the computer. She had wanted to take some of her chapters with her to his place, so she could write. Some of them were already on thumb drives, she simply hadn't moved her most recent chapter to one. Now, before doing so, she was going to add something.

Christiana's eyes were wandering the room, in an attempt to keep herself distracted. If she focused on the task at hand... on the footsteps coming down the hallway, slowly, she might lose her composure and race from the room. She was desperately afraid, afraid of the moment when the Lord would walk through the doors into the room, his cold eyes focused on her...

But when he finally did enter the room, walking with a graceful, slow gait, Christiana did not feel at all as she had supposed she would. Her dread melted away and was replaced with a fiery wanting. He was beautiful. Tall, muscular, and well dressed, with a pale, smooth face, and blue eyes as deep as the ocean. He was divinity, and did not look at all demonic or monstrous as the townspeople had said.

Perhaps they had been wrong. Maybe the Lord was kinder, softer, than the ordinary people had believed. The Lord approached her, and bowed slightly. "You are my uninvited guest, I take it?" Christiana blushed at that, then nodded.

He looked her in the eyes, and Christiana was lost. "I am Lord Dante."

A moment after writing it, Christine sat back, read it, and huffed. "It sucks." But she put her chapter on the flash drive anyway, planning to change it later. Sticking the flash drive in her bag, she moved towards her room to grab a few more things. Then, behind her, the door opened. She spun around. "You?" Christine saw Dante in the door and was surprised. The man chuckled at her.

"Yeah, me. You've been busy." He moved into the apartment, glancing around. "Nice place."

"Flattery will get you no where." The girl disappeared into her room, the door slamming behind her.

As Dante walked around, looking at her drab apartment, he examined her stuff. First, her movie collection. Most of it, he was glad to see, was either a violent movie, a horror film, or a violent horror film. That was a good sign; they'd never argue on movie night.

Then he moved towards her video game collection. There was some stuff he'd never heard of, but most of it didn't look half bad. But he did laugh when he saw a few badly made Yu-Gi-Oh spinoffs for the PS2.

"What's so funny?" Christine walked out of her room and stared at him. Dante held the game up. "Hey, it was my favorite show as a kid."

"It wasn't around when you were a kid." Dante pointed out.

"Kid, teenager, whatever. Shut up." Dante returned the game to the shelf and moved to Christine's computer. Sadly for her, the word document was still on the screen, right in front of the man she'd hoped would never read it. He scanned the top few paragraphs, sitting down to read the whole thing.

Meanwhile Christine was getting a few last things; her address book, her cell phone, and then she started checking to see if she'd missed anything. Somehow it did not register to her that Dante was reading her novel, until she did a double take. Mouth agape, she dropped her duffel and ran at him.

"No!" Dante turned, surprised, only for Christine's chest to ram into his face, and with his own shout added to the mix the chair fell back, slamming into the floor. Both of them fell onto the rug, Christine draped over Dante like a curtain over a window.

"Don't... read that." She seethed, red blush coloring her face. Beneath her Dante attempted to speak, but he was hard to understand since Christine's chest was muffling his words.

"If you didn't like people reading that, why didn't you just say so!?"

The girl realized she might've overreacted. Sighing, she sat up, getting off him and offering her hand. He looked rather disgruntled. "Sorry... I'm touchy about my stories."

"A writer huh? So you're nervous about your work?" He asked.

Christine nodded, moving towards her duffel bag. There was a lull in the conversation, and Dante smirked. "Or maybe you didn't want me to know that I inspired you?"

With a cringe, Christine froze. This pleased the half demon, and he kept going. "Lord Dante... I like that."

Growling, when Christine turned around she looked rather like a half demon herself. "Dan...teeee!"

0-0-0

Outside, Madison heard a commotion and turned her music down. From Christine's apartment she heard shouts, yelps, and screams, along with a lot of banging and thudding.

She shrugged. "That didn't take them long." Then she smiled. "Maybe I'll be an aunt soon!" A little grin came to her face, and she turned her music back up, unable to hear something that sounded like a man shouting "PUT DOWN THE STAPLER!"

0-0-0

In a bar near the edge of town a hooded man sat down for a drink. In truth he was no man. But there were very few ordinary "men", or "people" in this bar.

The bartender looked him over and sneered, then glanced back at one of his coworkers. "You're not here to cause trouble, are ya?"

The hooded man glanced up, his eyes twinkling. "What? You mean... in this bar?" He chuckled. "No. But in this city?" A great laugh left his chest, and sent a shiver down the big brute of a bartender's spine.

The hooded man grinned vilely. "Oh, yes."

0-0-0

The Drama Llama is prancing around!

Okay, he isn't really, but soon he will be!

Hope you enjoyed it. Ta~ta!


	6. Hitting the Hot Guy in a Bad Place

After another boring school day, Christine had a pile of homework to do. Most of it was not a challenge, it was simply time consuming. Which in a way was fine, because Dante would be gone the whole day anyway.

As she thought of this, Christine became slightly worried. Was her life beginning to revolve around this man? Sure, he was charasmatic, funny, and an interesting man, but perhaps Christine was becoming too dependent on his company. Maybe she needed a girl's night out... or a girl's night in.

Or she could visit one of her parents. She hadn't been to see either of them in a while. Christine realized how sad it was that her friends consisted of Dante, Madison, and her parents. Then there was a knock on the door.

Christine glanced at the clock as she moved towards the entrance. It was too early for Dante to be home... and he wouldn't have knocked besides.

When she opened the door, Christine came face to face with a woman. She was about the same height as Madison (a little shorter than Chris) and had dark, short hair. She wore a sort of white suit. Figuring she was a customer, Christine wondered what she should say.

"Uh... if you're looking for Dante, he's not here..." She muttered.

"That's fine. I'll wait for him." The woman moved past Christine into the house, taking a seat on the sofa.

"So I take it your a friend of his?" Christine hoped the woman would say no. When she said yes, Chris was surprised to feel a flare of jealously in her heart.

"You must be his new roommate." the woman smiled. "I'm Lady. Dante and I go pretty far back."

Ignoring the fact that "Lady" was a pretty strange name, Christine moved back to her homework. "I'm Christine. And as long as I can work, I don't care if you wait." She started writing again.

"College student?" Lady asked. Christine nodded, still working. The two left each other relatively alone, though lady did turn on the TV. Christine didn't mind. About an hour later, she finished with most of what was due the next day, and took a break. With a deep sigh, she stood and stretched.

Homework was not fun, but at least she was done for the night. Christine moved towards the kitchen, thinking of what to make for dinner.

"Are you going to eat with us?" Christine called out to Lady. Lady seemed surprised that she had asked.

"Not if Dante's ordering pizza... again." Meanwhile she rolled her eyes, and Christine chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'm making it this time." This surprised Lady, and she seemed to think about it.

"Need help?"

The silence which had ruled earlier ended as the two women lightened up, and began talking to one another as they worked.

"So how'd you meet Dante?" Christine asked. Lady was standing at the counter, chopping vegetables.

"He and I both got tangled into a battle against his brother, and my father." Lady admitted with a dark sneer. Christine decided not to ask about it. But Lady smiled. "We've been friends since then."

Somehow hearing Lady say that she and Dante were just friends made a huge weight lift from Christine's shoulders. From there, Christine explained how she had met Dante. A few moments later both women were gasping for breath.

Outside, someone stepped towards the door, but paused when he heard the conversation.

"You pepper sprayed him?" Lady gawked, sputtering with laughter.

"I felt so horrible! I mean, he does annoy me, a lot... but I still felt bad."

Christine laughed again, spreading the toppings over the pizza.

"He annoys many people." Lady sighed, smirking. "He's a child."

The writer grinned. "Why, that's just right!" She laughed. "He loves pizza and ice cream, he makes all sorts of silly jokes and loves to annoy people... but in the end you just can't hate him. He's lovable... sort of."

"You really are a writer, if you can even attempt to explain Dante Sparda." Lady chuckled.

The man at the door chuckled too, then finally stepped inside the Devil May Cry.

Both women turned to see Dante step into the room, arms crossed over his chest. "Miss me?" He asked.

"Hardly." Christine muttered, but the smile on her face and the light in her eyes said otherwise. Boy, she had fallen for him, and hard. Inside,

she cursed herself, but she couldn't change how she felt. Smirking, the man approached the counter, and sniffed the air. "Is that... pizza?" He grinned.

"Made it myself. It'll be much healthier than the crap that place I worked for sells." Christine told him, putting on her mitts. She opened the oven and checked the pizza, and Dante leaned down next to her to see it.

He frowned. "What are those green things?" Rolling her eyes, Christine shut the oven to let it cook a little longer.

"They're called peppers."

"And why are they on the pizza?" Dante asked, pointing at the oven.

"Because" Christine muttered, standing akimbo. "You need some vegetables on it to make it more balanced. And I'm making salad." She grinned.

Dante's grin became a worried frown. "Vegetables on pizza?" He looked puzzled.

Christine was almost hurt, and it showed on her face for only a moment before she frowned deeply. "Eat what you want. Next time I won't bother to make dinner for you." She took her mitts off and was going to stomp away angrily, but her stomping was impaired by a muscular arm that came in front of her. Dante smiled at her.

"Babe, I'd eat anything you made for me." He winked. Still a little angry, Christine huffed.

"Then you're eating salad." Laughing, Dante moved his arm.

"Anything you say, babe." Christine moved to the fridge and got out the salad fixings, while Dante moved towards Lady.

"So, you two acquainted now?" Dante asked her. Smirking Lady nodded.

"Finally there's a new face around here." Lady told him.

"Why need a new face when you've got this?" The man asked her, gesturing to his own face. Lady glanced up, then pretended to gag, which earned giggles from Christine.

Glancing over his shoulder, Dante glared playfully at his friend. She pretended to ignore him.

"So what brings you here?" The man turned back to Lady and asked.

"Business." She told him, her look turning serious. Dante realized that whatever she had to say was no joke. Then she smirked. "It can wait till after dinner."

"It had better" Christine added, taking the pizza out of the oven. "We slaved over a hot stove all day."

Before the devil hunter could make a comeback about how he'd been killing demons all day, Lady shoved the glasses into his hand. "Get the drinks" She ordered, and Dante gave in without a retort for once.

Once they sat down, they turned the TV onto the Comedy Channel and ate away. Except for the man; Dante was still skeptically examining his "healthy" pizza. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Christine sitting on the other side of the sofa with only a salad. This was not strange, as she enjoyed salad. What did shock Dante was the realization that he had never seen Christine eat pizza. Even the night they had met at the Pizza place, he hadn't seen her eating any.

Very curious, the man asked her.

"Why aren't you eating your creation?" He asked, holding his slice up.

After swallowing her mouthful of spinach, Christine explained, "I don't like pizza."

Dante's eyes were as wide as saucers. "You... don't..."

Behind him, Lady shook her head sadly. "Now you got him started.”

To Dante it seemed that not eating pizza was some sort of sin. He looked very startled. "How can you not like it?" He implored.

Taken aback, Christine shrugged. "Well, I've never tried it."

Dante moved closer to Christine immediately. "Let's remedy that."

The woman flinched away, putting her salad bowl between herself and the man. "Let's not."

"Why?" He seemed so confused.

"I don't want to try it!" Christine insisted, moving to stand. Dante reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her back onto the sofa.

"I insist." Dante told her, and setting his pizza down, he took Christine's salad and moved it away. Complaining the girl stretched to steal it back, but Dante held it out of reach.

"Oh, come on! This is so childish!"

"All you have to do is try it." Salad gone, Dante picked the pizza back up again. His other arm, which was around Christine's chest, he used to grab both her wrists, keeping her from fighting back. Then he moved closer, the triangular food moving closer too.

Frowning, Christine turned her head just as Lady stood and left the room.

"Hey! Don't leave me!" Christine shouted, but Lady ignored her.

"I don't want to have to watch this." She disappeared into the bathroom.

That left Dante and Christine, glaring at one another. Dante looked pretty pleased with himself, and Christine looked ready to rip him a new one.

"Come on." Dante told her. "Don't be so stubborn."

"Don't be such an ass!" Christine, flustered, shouted at Dante. She was suddenly noticing how very close she was to him. She was getting very tired of Dante forcing himself into her personal bubble.

"You like my ass."

"Oh, I hate you."

Frowning, Christine glared at the cheesy triangle of doom. After a few moments of this, Dante moved the pizza back and forth making "zoom" noises.

"I am not a child!" Christine sputtered, insulted. "You will tire of this and let me go."

"You will try the pizza." Dante insisted once more.

This went on for a few minutes.

The sound of the toilet flushing and the bathroom door opening interrupted them. Lady stepped out and huffed, rolling her eyes. "This will never end. I haven't even known this woman for a day but I know

she's just as cocky as you."

This made Christine grin. "Why thank you."

Lady, crossing her arms, grinned evilly. This killed Christine's grin. "I don't like that look." Dante looked back at Lady, eyebrow cocked in confusion.

"Both of you keep fighting for 'dominance' and it's going to drive everyone that knows you crazy." Lady explained. "Let's end it now before I kill either of you."

"And how do you suppose we do that? Mr. Ego here doesn't know when to quit!" Christine snarled. Turning back, Dante retorted,

"And you don't know when to submit."

The woman frowned. "I don't submit."

Smirking, Lady already had an idea in mind. "Simple. Fight. Winner takes all."

Dante's grin was brighter than a supernova.

Christine's heart became a emo like black hole.

"Hell yes!"

"Hell no!"

0-0-0

"I hate you."

Dante and Christine were headed towards the back of the Devil May Cry building, and down a flight of stairs to Dante's training arena. He was grinning silly like.

"What? Afraid to lose?" He challenged, and Christine huffed at him.

"You have more bullshit in you than a cow."

"And you have more sharp edges than a barbed wire fence."

Lady was following behind them, and Christine turned to glower at her.

"You've known me for a couple of hours, surely I haven't pissed you off yet." the girl complained.

"No. You're pretty cool for an underaged college student." Lady admitted. She seemed to be enjoying Christine's misery.

"Then why did you do this to me?"

"Stop complaining, you sound like Lady when I forget to pay the bills." Dante groaned, which earned him a hard glare from Lady.

They came to the basement, and Christine's eyes wandered the room. Mostly, it was just a large, empty room, and the far corner had some exercise machines and some weights. As she looked around, Dante moved to the center of the room.

Then, he spun about, jacket flaring, and lifted his arm. He beckoned Christine to the floor with a cheshire grin.

Christine did not move onto the mat. Truth was, she had never fought anyone in her life. Half of her childhood had been spent in her grandfather's "rich people" circle, where young girls certainly did not fight or wrestle. When she got older, she was too reserved to ever challenge anyone. She was hardly a lover, but she wasn't a fighter either.

Behind her came the annoying sound of metal on metal, as Lady moved a chair towards the wall for her to sit in. "Might as well get it over with." Lady told her with a smile. Christine grimaced, and became angry suddenly.

Sure, Dante was a powerful half demon. But she could kick ass. Hadn't she escaped her grandfather's goons? She'd lived twenty years on her own just fine. She wasn't helpless.

She wasn't on Dante's level, but she certainly wasn't helpless. And the way Lady and Dante were acting was as if she were a baby. And it pissed her off.

Christine rolled up her sleeves and cracked her neck, and finally stepped towards the mat.

Meanwhile, Dante grinned, and kneeled a little. He clapped his hands together, whistling, and then beckoned, as if Christine were a pet of some kind. This was the last straw, and with a snarl, the woman charged.

Aiming her first punch at his face, Christine was not at all surprised when Dante caught it easily, smirking. Then she raised her leg and kicked him, which knocked him off his feet but didn't do much else.

The man remained there as Christine kneeled over his chest and raised her fist.

Then she stopped.

"How do I win this?" She asked.

Dante, doing absolutely nothing to defend himself, responded, "You get me to submit." He grinned. "Why'd you hesitate? Don't want to hurt my pretty face?"

Why had she hesitated? Suddenly a terrifying image of Dante in battle, being hurt badly, flashed before her eyes... just long enough for Dante to shove her off and roll over on top of her.

"You really aren't getting the idea are you?" He asked, confused. "I was sure you'd be a greater challenge than this."

Christine shoved the mental image from her mind, and punched Dante in the face. As he fell back, Christine rubbed her hand which hurt like hell. But she didn't stop, as he stumbled, she ran at him, shoving him down and jabbing her elbow into his gut.

Dante caught himself as he fell, sweeping his leg out to knock Christine down. She fell, then scrambled to her feet, the blood rushing through her veins. Why was this fun to her? She was getting her ass kicked! Still... she was having fun.

Lady, on the other side of the room, was on the phone, talking to somebody. Christine dodged another move by Dante as she listened to the conversation.

" - I hope he gets his ass kicked, he needs to be dropped a few notches. But I don't know if she can pull it off." Lady chuckled into the phone. "You should meet her, she's not half as bad as you supposed."

Another friend of Dante's, Christine figured, just as her stomach flew into her throat. She flew over Dante's head, about to slam into the ground, but Dante ran and caught her, keeping her arms caught behind her back.

Immediately Christine kicked Dante's shin, struggling to free herself, but Dante had her in a tight hold.

"Come on, babe, you know you don't stand a chance." He told her.

"No!" Christine shouted angrily, still shouting. "I don't want to lose, I don't want to eat your damn pizza, and I'm tired of feeling so insignificant around YOU!"

And with one last kick, Christine freed herself. She had thought she'd kicked his leg hard, shoving him back... but that was not quite the case.

"MOTHER-" Dante broke out into expletives, falling to his knees in pain. Confused, Christine spun around... and realized the horrible truth.

Lady was in tears, laughing so loud it echoed, as she tried to explain toher friend on the other line what had just occurred: Christine had kicked Dante in a rather sensitive place.

"Oh, god I am so sorry!" The woman kneeled beside him, trying to keep from bursting into laughter herself. In a way, she had won: but that wasn't the best topic to bring up at the moment, likely.

Grimacing, Dante looked up at her with an angry snarl. Christine looked a little scared. "I swear it was an accident." She was almost afraid he'd attack her for real. Then, Dante lost a little of the anger in his eyes when he saw how apologetic she looked. So instead of being pissed, he looked up with a grin.

"Kiss it and make it better?"

0-0-0

When the trio finally sat down to dinner, Christine had a piece of pizza on her plate, Dante had a hand shaped mark on his cheek and a bag of ice between his legs, and Lady was red faced from laughing.

"I can't believe I'm eating this." Christine muttered, staring at it.

Dante groaned. "You're lucky I don't get revenge."

"To me this is revenge."

Letting out an aggravated sigh, Dante said. "Fine! I don't care."

Suddenly Christine felt bad. She glanced down at the pizza and sighed. What would it hurt? Her arteries, Christine thought, but she ignored her mind and picked up the pizza.

Dante watched as Christine finally had a small taste of the delicious meal... and as she chewed it, she looked perplexed. "It's okay... I guess." Laughing, Dante let his head fall back.

"All your bitching for that." He laughed again. Christine frowned.

"I don't like being forced." She told him. "If I say no, I mean it."

The man smirked. "Really?" It took Christine a moment to realized his implication, and she frowned. She would've hit him if she hadn't caused so much damage already.

Lady rolled her eyes as she finished her meal. "You two are better than cable." She stood and took her dish to the kitchen. Christine took another bite of her pizza, and then had a bite or two of salad. Dante, having already devoured three pieces, watched TV.

When Christine was done eating, she set her dishes on the table and let herself relax. Glancing at her, Dante chuckled.

"What?" Christine asked. Dante leaned closer to her.

"You missed some." He muttered.

And then he kissed her.

Apparently (or according to Dante at least), there had been a little cheese on Christine's lips. Dante applied pressure, and then licked her lips lightly, taking whatever had been there off. The girl, shell shocked, stayed very still, her eyes wide. Then, he leaned away, a broad grin on his face.

"I would hit you." She muttered.

"And you aren't because?"

Christine smirked and turned away.

"... I already did."

0-0-0

As Christine did the dishes, Dante and Lady moved towards his office.

"So what's causing trouble now?" The devil hunter began, seeming to be tired of the business already. He sat behind his desk and propped his feet up.

Lady moved towards the door, and looked to make sure that Christine was in the kitchen. Then, quietly, she closed the door. "There's a new demon in town."

"Great" Dante said. "And he's got a chip on his shoulder, right?"

"Of course." Lady smirked. "And I'm afraid you're already involved."

Without speaking, Dante nodded in the direction of the kitchen, and Christine. Lady nodded.

"Her grandfather mentioned something about a demon being after him." Dante told her.

"Bartholomew Rodham, from the Rodham family hunters. Ring a bell?" The woman asked, leaning on the desk near him.

Dante looked like he recognized it. "Rodham... human hunters who became pretty strong... until they were wiped out. Least that's what I heard."

"Almost all of them were." Lady told him. "Bartholomew was the last of the hunter generation. But it looks like someone's come back to haunt him... and your new friend will be a target."

Frowning, Dante remembered the man who Christine had only barely escaped from. "Wonder who it was he pissed off."

"I haven't found anything out about the demon, except that he's been stalking the city streets looking for the Rodham's. Trish is looking for more."

"When she knows something, have her call me. Until then, I'm gonna stick close to home." Dante told her. "I'm pretty secure in the bank, so I can quit taking jobs until this cools off."

That seemed to surprise Lady, and with a slightly curious look, she examined Dante. "How long have you known this girl?"

He shrugged. "We met a few days ago, and we've been arguing ever since." The man grinned.

"And what is your connection to her? A strained friendship?" Lady seemed to be waiting for Dante to explain.

The man realized he couldn't avoid his friend's questioning. Lady was like a sister to him, and he knew she would keep asking for the rest of her life, if that was what it took. So, huffing, he admitted something he hadn't even admitted to himself.

"I'm... drawn to her."

Laughing, Lady grinned. "Is Dante becoming a one woman man?" She joked.

The man rolled his eyes, but he did smile. "Don't know. But... yeah. If I get the chance, I'll date her." That reminded him of something. "Oh yeah! Her friend set me up with her on a blind date."

Lady seemed confused. "That doesn't sound like a blind date." Dante smirked. "It is for Christine."

"I give up on you." Lady turned to the door. "I'll call when I know more about our demon problem. "

When the two left the room, Christine was watching TV and sorting through her homework. She glanced up. "You through?"

Lady nodded. "I'm leaving." She moved to the coffee table and picked up Christine's pencil, using it to write her phone number on the top of the woman's homework. "If you ever get tired of sitting around here, give me a call."

Christine laughed. "I will."

The woman left Devil May Cry, waving behind her, before getting onto her motorcycle and taking off. "You have pretty cool friends." Christine admitted.

Dante chuckled, glancing at Christine. "Today was pretty interesting."

"You said it. And I really am sorry about earlier." She cringed.

"It's fine. I heal fast." He collapsed into the chair near her, grabbing the remote control. "And I apologize."

Shocked, Christine grinned. "Did I hear what I thought I heard?"

"Yes you did; Lord Dante apologizing. Amazing isn't it?" The reference to her novel made Christine frown deeply, but she let it slide. "I am sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you so much. But you're so fun to tease."

Rolling her eyes, Christine stuffed her homework into her bag and then leaned back. "I don't mind teasing. Just don't try and control me, okay?"

Dante looked away from the TV, and looked Christine in the eyes. "Promise. But you have to promise too." He said, gesturing at her with the control.

"And what's that?"

"When we have arguments in the future, keep my balls out of them."


	7. Surprised by the Hot Guy

It seemed to me he was the most beautiful man in this world...

And yet not of this world. So very separate...

Perhaps I am the only one who can see the separation, the clear

division in his heart, but I know he suffers.

What can I do?

\- C.L. Moss, Unnamed Novel

The first few days of Dante and Christine's lives together were rather odd.

Firstly, Dante had to cope with a lack of pizza that he'd never experienced before. The withdrawal effects were frightening; sometimes he'd stare at into the fridge, looking for something to eat, for a very long time, a dead look in his eyes. Often he'd just grumble and glare at Christine, who would ignore him.

One afternoon as Christine was typing Dante quietly made to take her cell phone, and without turning around, she muttered vehemently, "Drop it."

All the pizza delivery numbers had been thrown away, and Christine hoped to eventually convert Dante to a somewhat healthier lifestyle. He was fighting tooth and nail, and eventually to make it easier Christine had allowed him pizza every Friday.

"Aren't even married and you've already taken over everything." Dante like to mutter. Christine would either ignore him or toss something at him. It was for his own good anyway; he wouldn't be fighting demons long if he didn't shape up in the health department.

Also, Christine no longer had any time alone, as Dante had stopped taking missions. They spent most of their time together so that the hunter could keep Christine safe, but it was driving her nuts. As long as rogue demons were out to kill her grandpa and members of her family, she was in trouble. Luckily, her father wasn't related to Grandpa, and her mother lived in far away Boston. So Christine was the only one in danger.

Spending all of her time with anyone would be annoying, as Christine was certainly a loner. Being with Dante all the time was... Well… A few nights after their first day together, Christine came out of the shower (dressed, of course, and in sweatpants and a baggy black sleep shirt) to find Dante sprawled out on the couch, sound asleep.

Surprised, the girl approached him as she dried her hair. He looked almost peaceful as he slept, maybe even serene. Watching him, Christine wondered how such a handsome looking man could be sucha pain in the butt. She knew he had a heart of gold... but he hardly ever showed it.

The peaceful look on Dante's face changed, and his lips parted slightly. "Nhm…"

Was he having a dream? Curious, Christine stayed where she was. Suddenly Dante moved a little, his arms twitching. "uh… um…" The look on his face said it all. Dante was having a rather… strange dream.

Huffing, Christine rolled her eyes and turned to leave.

"Oh, baby, Ch - Christine…"

Christine's eyes were as big as saucers as she spun around, flushed red, to look at the sofa. Furious, she wasn't sure whether to faint from embarrassment or just kill Dante then and there.

The man sat up and looked at Christine with a smug grin and a winkle in his eye.

"Should I become an actor you think?" The hunter taunted.

"DANTE!"

The two became adjusted to one another's schedules: Dante took care of his business while Christine was at school and was always there to pick her up. She spent a lot of time doing homework and he, meanwhile, lazed about or played video games. His favourite game was "annoy Christine". In response Christine would either withhold pizza on Fridays or just beat him up with a textbook.

He did get rather bored sitting at home, so Dante often stayed in the basement to train. Soon he was practicing so much that the punching bags had to be replaced weekly, sometimes daily. At least Christine knew she wasn't the only one suffering. She loved being alone, and

Dante loved fighting, and they both had sacrificed these things for her safety. At least Dante was being unselfish. Christine, over the first few days, felt her respect for Dante grow. Slightly.

He was still quite the character…

Seeing that Dante hardly had cleaning standards (and that half his clothes were blood stained) Christine had taken to doing his laundry with hers. It wasn't a real bother, and she felt it was the least she could do.

As Christine was picking up clothes one day, she didn't notice Dante coming upstairs behind her. She picked up a pair of socks and scrunched her nose.

"Eu de Dante" She huffed as she put them in the basket.

"What're you doing?" He asked with a confused expression.

"Cleaning. Surprised?" Smirking, she turned to him. "Have you ever seen a washing machine before?"

"Used to see 'em in my dreams all the time, until you replaced 'em." He winked. Unaffected, Chris rolled her eyes.

As he walked away, and Christine continued picking up laundry, she noticed something strange. Confused, Christine called to him. "Hey don't you have any underwear here?"

Turning to her, Dante grinned pervertedly. "What do you think?"

They were perhaps the oddest two to ever live together. And as Christine would meet more of Dante's friends, it would get stranger.

Such as the day Christine one of Dante's rare guy friends...

0-0-0

It was a week after her first meeting with Lady, and Christine was sitting in her bedroom, the room she shared with Dante. Somehow she was managing to do her homework while also talking to Madison on the phone.

"Man, this sucks. We can't even go shopping together..." Madison sighed on the phone.

To tell the truth, Christine did not miss their shopping sessions. She loved being with Madison... but Madison liked shopping at the mall. And the mall was full of people. Christine hated people.

But she didn't mention this, not wanting to hurt her friend's feelings. "Until whoever is trying to get to my grandpa is stopped, I've gotta be babysat like... well, a baby. Not to mention my grandfather will snatch me up first chance he gets."

"That's true. What a snob." The girl huffed. "Still we need to hang out. I've got some friends I'd like you to meet; they're really cool..."

Christine didn't like Madison's friends, who Madison tried to force on her in an attempt to make her more social. It didn't work. "Look, maybe some night you could come have pizza with me and Dante." That sounded like a lot more fun.

"Oh, but I want to have some girl time. Besides, I don't want to intrude on you and Dante~" Christine smirked and rolled her eyes. Madison did not know how to take a hint.

"It's not for forever. Life will return to normal eventually, as soon as Dante finds this demon bastard." That made Madison chuckle.

"I wonder why this guy's after your grandpa anyway..." Yes; why? Christine had wondered the same thing.

At that moment the devil hunter sauntered into the room and towards his closet. Currently he was wearing his training clothes (baggy black pants and no shirt), but he began to shrug the pants off.

"HOLY SHIT, Dante!" Christine screeched into Madison's ears, jumping in surprise and falling off the bed.

Dante laughed. "What? My room, too, you know." He proceeded to take his black, sweat lathered pants off, dropping them to the floor.

Removing the leather pants and red chaps out of the closet, he started slipping them on.

"What's going on? Come on, what is it?" Christine ignored her inquisitive friend and instead, red faced, shouted at the hunter as he dressed.

"What the fuck's wrong with you? At least warn me!"

"Hey, babe, this is a treat." He laughed as he buckled his belt.

At this point Madison shouted loudly in Christine's ear. "Come on, talk to me!" The girl begged.

Clearly annoyed, Christine muttered, "Dante is being an asshole."

"But he's a cute asshole." She giggled. Christine chose to ignore that.

Glancing back to see if it was safe, she saw that Dante was buckling his black shirt up, and heaved a sigh of relief. Finally dressed, the hunter walked to the side of the bed where Christine was sitting, and kneeled to her level, snatching the phone from her quickly.

"Hey!" He ignored Christine's objections and stood, talking to Madison.

"So, told her about our date yet?" The man asked nonchalantly. Christine seemed confused, but Madison completely understood.

"Oh! Put her back on!"

With a debonair smirk Dante held the phone back out to Christine. The woman looked very edgy, almost weary, as she snatched the phone back. "What date?" She growled. His work done, Dante sauntered out of the room. As she listened to Madison on the phone, the woman leaned into the hallway, shouting after him.

"Come back here! What was he talking about?" She addressed the last statement to Madison, talking back into her cell.

"I set you up on a date with Dante! Next Friday, at seven!"

Christine looked like she just been punched in the gut. "Wonderful..."

"Hey" Dante appeared at the bottom of the steps, demonstrating with his arms. "I spend all my time protecting you, the least you could do is join me for dinner." He winked, then just barely dodged out of the way of Christine's shoe. Even though the woman knew it was true, she would never admit that she felt indebted to Dante.

"Anyway, I'm leaving!" He called from downstairs.

Surprised, Christine ignored Madison's laughter and moved towards the top of the stairs. "Wait, what?"

Once again Dante stood at the bottom, holding Christine's converse in one hand. "I've got business that won't wait. Don't worry; a friend is coming over to take my place." He tossed her shoe back up, and instead of bothering to catch it Christine just let it fall. It hit the small lamp on the hallway table, and it crashed to the floor and flickered out.

"W- Wait..." For once Christine had lost her sharp tongue but she spoke so softly Dante didn't hear her. Ignoring the glass behind her, she moved down the stairs. He was headed towards the door. Christine raced after him. "Wait!"

Glancing back, he stopped, and Christine ran into his back. This was very out of character, how flustered she looked, and she spoke without her usual reserve. "How can I trust some person I've never met? You're gonna leave me alone with them?"

This confused Dante, but he went with it. "Trust me. He's a friend of mine. He owes me a favor." He cocked an eyebrow at Christine's sudden shy attitude.

"He?"

The man shrugged, turning back towards the door, but then for a moment he turned back to glance at Christine. She seemed like she'd just leapt out of bed, hair razzled and with a sleepy look on her face.

Usually she had a sharp wit and determined look about her, but at this moment she looked almost vulnerable.

"You okay?" He asked.

For a moment the girl didn't know what to say. Madison was buzzing in her ear, so Christine hung up on her. Dante quirked an eyebrow at this. "You this nice to all your friends?"

She ignored him. "I'm fine. I'm just not sure I like this ... situation, you leaving me here." The girl huffed.

A small smirk came to his lips, and he crossed his arms. "Feel nervous without me?"

Flushed scarlet Christine regained her vicious tongue. "Actually I feel a great sense of relief that I don't have to watch and make sure you don't 'accidentally' come into the bedroom when I'm changing." She sneered. "Also, I can shower in peace."

Dante's only reaction was a wink. "So why don't you want me to leave?"

Christine frowned deeply. "Who says your friend isn't twice as bad?"

"Touche" He bowed slightly. "But then again, it just so happens that this friend of mine is madly in love and wouldn't even blink if you invited him into the shower with you. Which, if you did, I would have to kill him in a jealous rage."

"Kill away. Then I wouldn't have to bother with him." Resigning herself to her fate, Christine crossed her arms and trudged to the computer.

"But then we'd need a new babysitter. And I'm afraid killing the kid would be harder than it sounds." With one last wave, Dante turned towards the door. "I'm not leaving yet, but as soon as he's here, I'm gone." He proceeded to move out the front door to the porch.

For a moment Christine watched him sit on a rocking chair (which Christine had bought for the spot; the front porch just looked so empty) and prop his feet up, and she looked strangely forlorn.

As much as she wanted to believe Dante... strangers scared her.

She could only hope that this friend of his was as nice as Dante wanted her to believe.

0-0-0

Meanwhile, Dante was talking to said "friend" on his cell phone, who until only five minutes prior had not known he was going to be playing babysitter.

"What the hell, Dante?" The voice of a young, strong male shouted through the phone. "Last time I saw you we killed a giant animated statue of your dad, and now outta the blue, you want a favor?"

"Way I see it, you owe me. Didn't you say so yourself, way back then?" Dante leaned back in the rocking chair, grinning. The huff that came from the phone seemed to show that the youth realized Dante's words were true.

"A little warning would've been nice."

"You'll get over it. How soon can you get here?" The older man asked.

"Oh, and would you mind getting a pizza on your way here? I'm starving."

"Suck it, old man."

0-0-0

Thus, an hour later, Dante's erstwhile friend entered his house and reentered his life for the first time in quite a few months. And, just like old friends, the arguements ensued immediately.

Christine heard them from the bathroom as they began. At first it almost sounded like her male clone was in the other room, taking her place as a pain in the butt to Dante. As she stepped into the room she was quite amused by what she saw.

"Hey, look who it is." Dante laughed as the new person sauntered into the room with all the attitude Dante himself had, but with a little more teen angst. "What took so long?"

"I went outta my way to get your fucking pizza, that's what took so long." Sneering the boy tossed the pizza box onto the counter.

"You did? I'm touched."

"Whatever." This new person was a little shorter than Dante, but with the same silver hair. A weird cast covered his arm, but he moved it with ease. As Christine stepped into the room and examined her new guardian, he and Dante began to bicker.

For the most part, Christine ignored them. She was more curious about the strange cast on the stranger's arm. It certainly didn't look broken... he moved it with ease... it was rather weird.

Finally, the new guy noticed Christine standing in the hallway, and looked up. Dante turned around. "Hey" He grinned and nodded towards the other man. "Come meet your babysitter."

Nervous, Christine frowned and moved closer slightly, but not moving beyond Dante. "This is Nero, a pain in the ass who owes me a favor."

The man motioned to Nero, who frowned at him. "I'm sorry you have to put up with him for the night, but it was him or Lady and I don't want her searching around for the money I owe her."

Nero rolled his eyes after Dante's explanation. "I feel sorry for her that she has to live with you."

"But I'm pretty lucky, aren't I?" The older man winked, and once again Nero rolled his eyes. But, he did nod, which made Christine flush and glance away like she hadn't heard.

Approaching Christine, Nero held his hand out as a form of peacemaking. Christine noticed it was the one without the cast.

"Are you left handed?" Christine asked, and Nero shrugged. She nervously took his hand, but instead of shaking, Nero did a strange thing where he grasped her hand then pulled back, something Christine had never done. It was a weird handshake, and at the look of confusion on Christine's face, Nero chuckled.

"So, who're you?" Nero asked. Dante watched the exchange as the two talked.

"Christine Moss. Unfortunate denizen of this... business." She gestured about.

"Like I said, I'm sorry." They both laughed. Christine felt a little more at ease. Nero didn't have the same friendly air to him that Dante seemed to have, but it was easy to warm up to him. Nero wasn't that bad. He seemed sort of ... protective. Not as easygoing as Dante, but certainly not mean. Her fears faded a bit.

Dante smirked, realizing Christine was okay with the situation. He grabbed his sword from its place on the wall, put it on his back, and turned to the door.

"Well, don't get frisky while I'm gone. If you stole Christine from me I might have to look to Kyrie for comfort..." Dante addressed Nero as he left. Sauntering away, hands in his pockets, Dante knew he'd hit the mark when Nero spun around and yelled at him.

"I'll kick your ass!"

Dante just laughed as the door slammed shut behind him.

0-0-0

It was rather awkward for the first few minutes. Christine, though she had begun to feel less nervous, still felt rather stiff. She didn't know what to say, what to do, with this total stranger.

Nero, too, seemed lost for words, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Well..." He sighed, then looked at Christine. "Need anything?"

The woman seemed taken aback by the question, and shook her head.

"Okay." The man shrugged and went to the sofa, and grabbed the remote.

Christine sighed. What was she supposed to do now? Glancing at the clock, she realized it would be a while before she was tired, so she might as well work on homework. Once she'd taken it out of her bag, she sat on a chair near the sofa.

"So who's Kyrie?" She asked, remembering the name Dante had said. "Girlfriend?"

Nero nodded, and his eyes grew distant at the word Kyrie, as if he were imagining her. Christine was amazed that Nero's girlfriend was allowing him to be alone with another woman, and she said so.

"Kyrie isn't the jealous type. She knows I love her." Nero told

Christine, but the woman wasn't convinced. But she didn't press it. So, for an hour, they sat in almost total silence, only the TV breaking the quiet. Every so often Christine would glance up at Nero. She noticed how alike he and Dante looked... were they related? At that point she decided to ask Nero how he and Dante had met.

"We were enemies at first... but he helped me save a friend." The boy began. As he spoke, he stood and walked to the kitchen. Christine could hear his voice from the other room. "He was a pain in the ass at first, but he can be a nice guy, if he wants."

"That's the truth." Christine chuckled. "So that's why you owe him? He helped you?" The boy nodded.

Once again they fell quiet. After a while, Nero groaned and let his head fall back on the couch. "I am so fucking bored!"

Chuckling, Christine decided, for her guardian's sake, she would set aside her homework. Nero glanced at her, and she gestured to the game system by the TV.

"You play?" She asked.

Nero grinned.

0-0-0

Dante was standing outside a bar, as drizzling rain began to fall. The roar of a motorcycle was in the distance, getting closer. The man grinned as it slid to a stop nearby him.

"Took you long enough." He muttered. His blonde friend glowered warningly. "You owe me for this." She muttered. "This was so much trouble, I ought to just shoot you."

"But that wouldn't be very nice, would it?" He grinned. "Besides, this is for a good cause. Your information could save a woman's life."

Another motorcycle roared into the alleyway out front of the bar. Surprised, Dante watched as the woman on the other bike came to a stop, wearing a helmet. He felt as if he might know her...

"And she is?" He asked. The blonde woman smiled.

"My informant."

The other woman removed her helmet and revealed bright red hair, tan skin, and a knowing smirk.

"Hello, Dante."

**Author's Note:**

> Please end me.


End file.
